This is a Working Document !
Care to add to this document? Go to the end, make a submission and make a difference !
A few of the States have yet to be completed, any assistance will be greatly appreciated,
Did you know, that you only have to miss 3 mortgage repayments for a bank to consider foreclosure on your property?
Would you know what to do you; or someone you knew, or someone who relied on you became homeless?
Homelessness is not a problem in Australia, it is a symptom of other problems that should have been addressed earlier.
Being Homeless can happen to anyone, literally anyone, being ashamed is not necessary, acknowledging you are human, however is !
With that said, I know the above statement is a generalisation, and in some circumstances, it won’t apply, but dealing with “homelessness” as the problem, is not the solution, not long term anyway, the issue is how someone get there in the first place.
No one goes to their career counsellor at school and says, “How do I get a job as being homeless”. Things like domestic violence, self-confidence and belief, education, financial management skills, understanding concepts of risk, may assist and get in the way of achieving our visioned lifestyle and the comforts it may or may not include.
Having and knowing about what insurances to have such as income protection insurance, good financial senses, concepts of risk, cause and effect, and I guess on a more spiritual level, the concept of karma, should all be part of our staple as citizens of a first world nation, these are the foundations of self-protection from being homeless, not just relying upon the superman self talk “I am always ok, therefore I always will be”, because maybe one day, you won’t.
So, what do you do, when you have nowhere to sleep or call your own ?
In an emergency, here are some numbers and resources to call
New South Wales
| Organisation | Contact |
| Find a specialist homelessness service (By Region), | https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/housing/help/ways/services |
| Infoxchange Service Seeker: (used by AskIzzy) | https://www.serviceseeker.com.au/ |
| AskIzzy: | askizzy.org.au |
| Link2home Homelessness Information Line (emergency accommodation) | Freecall 1800 152 152 http://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/housing |
Victoria
| Organisation | Contact |
| Infoxchange Service Seeker: (used by AskIzzy) | https://www.serviceseeker.com.au/ (Legal, Housing Support, Accommodation, Health, Blankets, Hygiene, Food, Drug and Alcohol) Type “Homeless” and postcode or area, eg “Melbourne” in the search bar, or “homelessness disability”, for a more refined search |
| AskIzzy: | askizzy.org.au |
| The Salvation Army Melbourne Project 614 (SHS), Rough Sleeper Initiative | Level 1, The Salvation Army Melbourne 69 Bourke Street, Freecall1800 266 686 |
| Melbourne Homelessness Support Line: | 1800 627 727, Provides a twenty-four-hour, seven-days-a-week telephone response for people experiencing homelessness. Services include support; housing advice; assistance to access financial help; |
| Youth Projects | (don’t let the name fool you, they help all age groups), Living Room: The service includes free health care, counselling and support to improve the physical, mental and social well-being of individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, disadvantaged or marginalised with complex health care needs. Hosier Lane, Melbourne. https://www.youthprojects.org.au/Pages/Category/outreach-and-counselling |
South Australia
| Organisation | Contact |
| Infoxchange Service Seeker: (used by AskIzzy) | https://www.serviceseeker.com.au/ |
| AskIzzy: | askizzy.org.au |
Western Australia
| Organisation | Contact |
| Infoxchange Service Seeker: (used by AskIzzy) | https://www.serviceseeker.com.au/ |
| AskIzzy: | askizzy.org.au |
Queensland
| Organisation | Contact |
| Infoxchange Service Seeker: (used by AskIzzy) | https://www.serviceseeker.com.au/ |
| AskIzzy: | askizzy.org.au |
Northern Territory
| Organisation | Contact |
| Infoxchange Service Seeker: (used by AskIzzy) | https://www.serviceseeker.com.au/ |
| AskIzzy: | askizzy.org.au |
Tasmania
| Organisation | Contact |
| Infoxchange Service Seeker: (used by AskIzzy) | https://www.serviceseeker.com.au/ |
| AskIzzy: | askizzy.org.au |
What is homelessness
Being homeless is not just not having a roof over your head, it’s about not having a place or abode that you can perpetually finance and live in to sleep, cook, and provide. It’s about dignity, safety, and the ability to provide, for yourself and those you are responsible for.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, citing the Bureau of Statistics:
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines homelessness, for the purposes of the Census of Population and Housing, as the lack of one or more elements that represent ‘home’.
The ABS statistical definition of homelessness is ‘… when a person does not have suitable accommodation alternatives they are considered homeless if their current living arrangement:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/homelessness-and-homelessness-services
- is in a dwelling that is inadequate;
- has no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable; or
- does not allow them to have control of, and access to space for social relations’ (ABS 2012).
The ABS has six groupings for its analysis
| Code | Category |
|---|---|
| Homelessness operational groups | |
| 1 | Persons living in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out |
| 2 | Persons in supported accommodation for the homeless |
| 3 | Persons staying temporarily with other households |
| 4 | Persons living in boarding houses |
| 5 | Persons in other temporary lodgings |
| 6 | Persons living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings |
| Other marginal housing groups | |
| 7 | Persons living in other crowded dwellings |
| 8 | Persons in other improvised dwellings |
| 9 | Persons who are marginally housed in caravan parks |
https://www.abs.gov.au/census/guide-census-data/census-dictionary/2021/variables-topic/housing/homelessness-operational-groups-opgp
The ABS also cites, there were 122,494 people homeless on the night of the census 2021.
What I note also, is there no count of those who choose this lifestyle, or opt out of our conventions.
Now, for these homeless, the government provides resources, known as Specialist Homeless Services (SHS), Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) that are funded under the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) and the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH) are in scope for this collection. These agencies provide a wide range of services and operate within a range of service delivery frameworks. All SHS agencies report a standard set of data about the clients they support each month to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Identifying Homelessness Before It Happens
Whilst it sounds very positive, and hindsight is always your best friend, being aware of your and others’ circumstances, and upcoming life events, may assist in decision-making that may help in preventing the otherwise inevitable, or even give some time to plan and know who to call, should a less than desirable outcome come to fruition.
As per the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, a person may be at risk of homelessness if they are experiencing one or more of a range of factors or triggers that can contribute to homelessness.
Risk factors include:
- Financial stress (including due to loss of income, low income, gambling, change of family circumstances).
- Housing affordability stress and housing crises (pending evictions/foreclosures, rental and/or mortgage arrears).
- Inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions, including accommodation which is unsafe, unsuitable or overcrowded.
- Previous accommodation ended.
- Relationship/family breakdown.
- Child abuse, neglect or environments where children are at risk.
- Sexual abuse.
- Domestic/family violence.
- Non-family violence.
- Mental health issues and other health problems.
- Problematic alcohol, drug or substance use.
- Employment difficulties and unemployment.
- Problematic gambling.
- Transitions from custodial and care arrangements, including out-of-home care, independent living arrangements for children aged under 18, health and mental health facilities/programs, juvenile/youth justice and correctional facilities.
- Discrimination including racial discrimination (e.g. Aboriginal people in the urban rental market).
- Disengagement with school or other education and training.Involvement in or exposure to criminal activities.
- Antisocial behaviour.
- Lack of family and/or community support.
- Staying in a boarding house for 12 weeks or more without security of tenure.
Being Homeless and with a disability
In 2014, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, reported 24% of people who experienced homelessness, reported they had a disability as a core activity restriction.
According to AIHW, during 2021, 7300 (3%) of their clients had a disability, which makes the total number of clients services throughout the year being 243,333.. Compare that to the ABS at census 2021 with 122,494, highlighting (the obvious to a statistician, but not so obvious to anyone else perhaps), that there is at least a doubling of how many people experiencing homelessness, in 2021, as distinct to how many were homeless on the night of the census. And of course, this is not taking into account the homeless that DID NOT fill out their census forms.
Interestingly enough, Victoria was the highest with 2966 (80%) .and Northern Territory with 192 (5%) as the second lowest at 192 of the total number of recorded disabled people being homeless. This is a little disproportionate to the general state distribution of homeless per the general population of VIC and NT being 25% and 11% respectively.
The deduction to made here is on census night, there were 3675 disabled people homeless (being .03 by 122,494), whether or not they are on the NDIS is not apparent.
A little about AskIzzy
One Man’s Vision !
Thanks to the vision of a single man, back in 1989, Andrew Mahar AM, who from his garage, built the first online crisis accommodation register, to help people experiencing homelessness find a bed for the night, they now have “AskIzzy” which is run by Infoxchange, which is also now partnered with Google, REA Group and News Corp Australia, and many others, leading by genuine example the adage of being “good corporate citizens”, and with little or no fanfare for their contribution.
As per their website, AskIzzy works with the community, government and corporate partners to solve issues around homelessness, family violence, mental health and disability, as well as supporting Indigenous communities, women, youth and families.
More can be found at https://www.infoxchange.org/au/about-us, including the leadership team, the board and opportunities to work with them.
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