Homelessness Week is happening now. This year’s theme – ‘Homelessness Action Now’ – aims to raise awareness of the impact of homelessness and the solutions needed to address the issue at a national, state and local level.
The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW is calling on the Tweed Heads community to make a commitment this Homelessness Week by signing up and fundraising as part of the NSW Vinnies Community Sleepout.
The Community Sleepout is taking place on Friday 30 August with participants in Tweed Heads sleeping out at the Seagulls Club.
Funds raised from the event remaining in the local area to support Fred’s Place, which provides people experiencing or at risk of homelessness with the support to rebuild their lives and reconnect with the community due to the rising cost of living and rental crisis.
People can register to take part and donate at www.vinnies.org.au/communitysleepout.
Thousands needing support
‘This year’s Homelessness Week theme – “Homelessness Action Now” – emphasises the issues confronting communities across the state and the local responses that services like Fred’s Place play in providing early intervention,’ said Kim Kennedy, St Vincent de Paul Society NSW Regional Manager.
Ms Kennedy said St Vincent de Paul Society NSW’s homelessness and housing services have experienced high demand for support due to the ongoing cost of living and housing crise, with Vinnies providing a range of assistance to people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness.
This includes crisis accommodation, domestic and family violence refuges, alcohol and other drug facilities, social housing, case management, mobile outreach Vinnies Vans, GPs for people with complex needs, and more.
‘Our services have been unable to meet the increasing need for assistance with resources stretched beyond capacity,’ she said.
‘There is an urgent need for more support, resources and systemic changes to address this crisis in our state. Together with the NSW government we will continue to advocate for solutions that offer dignity and support to those most in need.’
By the numbers
- St Vincent de Paul Society’s statewide network of homelessness and housing services assisted 7,308 people across NSW in the past financial year.
- This represents a 10 per cent decrease on the previous year resulting from people needing to seek assistance for longer periods of time and a lack of available and affordable properties to house people.
- 56 per cent of people assisted were experiencing homelessness.
- 11 per cent of people seeking support from Vinnies’ services did so for the first time.
- The average number of days to secure a housing outcome for someone seeking assistance has grown to 245 days, increasing by 133 per cent over the past three years.
- The number requests for assistance that our services were unable to meet increased by 15 per cent from the previous year to 3,339.
- 50 per cent of these unassisted requests were due to no available accommodation to offer support.
The leading reasons for people seeking assistance from St Vincent de Paul Society NSW’s housing and homelessness services were domestic and family violence (31 per cent), housing crisis or affordability stress (25 per cent) and financial difficulty (10 per cent).
Kim Kennedy says an additional $50 million investment is needed in the Specialist Homelessness Services sector to annually bridge the gap in demand relative to services.
Also required is an SHS workforce development package, including funding for specialised roles and more responsive, specialised training and clinical supervision for staff, so they are better equipped and supported to respond to clients’ complex needs.
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