Homelessness Information and Statistics

Coast Shelter has sourced some interesting statistics and information on homelessness, financial stress and it's causes

The Australian Bureau of Statistics measured financial stress of working people. The data showed in one year:

59,000 people went without meals;
95,000 people were forced to pawn or sell something because they needed cash;
36,000 were unable to heat their homes;
89,000 sought help from charities and welfare organisations;
537,000 (more than half a million people) were unable to pay their electricity, gas or phone bills on time;
Overall, 810,000 working families experienced a cash-flow problem in the past year.

NCOSS (Council of Social Service of New South Wales) Estimates between 2 and 3.5 million Australians live in poverty. Of these 800,000 live in NSW (NSW Premier states that 21% of 3.6 million Australian households live on less than $400 per week).

HOMELESSNESS

On any day 105,000 people are homeless in Australia
On any day 26,000 children are homeless in Australia
On any day 27,000 people are homeless in NSW
73,000 people are on the waiting list for Public Housing
There is a 12 year waiting time for Public Housing in Gosford
There is a 15 year waiting time for Public Housing in Wyong

Cost of housing in Gosford

The average rental in Gosford is $250 per week
The average price of housing in Gosford is $390,000
The average price of housing in Wyong is $310,000

SAAP Services

In 2004/05 56,800 children accompanying parents entered a SAAP service
13,500 unaccompanied children entered SAAP accommodation, 5,000 of whom are under 5 years old
11,200 unaccompanied children 15-17 years old entered SAAP accommodation

Dental Services

500,000 people in Australia are on waiting lists for dental treatment
The average waiting time is 27 months
25% of Australians suffer from dental pain

Homelessness in Australia

Homelessness should not be quantified as being without a house; rather, it defines a state in which a person lacks a secure base to establish secure routines of living. The majority of long term homeless people are found in the large cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics breaks this down into 5 groups:

"Rough sleepers" - people who are living on the streets, with no formal shelter at all
Emergency shelters
Temporarily residing with friends
Boarding houses
Trailer park residents

Of 100,000 homeless people in Australia on census night in 2001

58% were Male
42% were Female
36% were between the age of 12 - 24
10% were under the age of 12
8.5% were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
23% were staying in boarding houses
49% were staying with friends and relatives
14% were sleeping rough
14% were staying in services funded through the SAAP

Common causes:

22% were Domestic and family violence
11% were Eviction/previous accommodation ended
11% Relationship/family breakdown
11% Usual accommodation unavailable
10% Financial Difficulty