By: Mike Crooks
It’s meant to be the season of joy, but for many vulnerable Australians, Christmas is a painful reminder of what they don’t have.
Mission Australia is asking Australians to help the most vulnerable members of our community this festive season – those people who do not have a safe and secure home.
“This Christmas will be a challenging time for many in our community,” Mission Australia’s CEO Sharon Callister said.
“Cost of living and housing affordability pressures are forcing families to make tough decisions and leading to people being pushed into homelessness.”
3,000 every hour
Mission Australia’s Christmas Safe Homes campaign highlights that every single hour across the country, 3,000 people seek help from homelessness services. The campaign is seeking donations to help the charity better connect families and individuals to safe and secure homes.
Mission Australia is asking Australians to help the most vulnerable members of our community this festive season.
Ms Callister says that the demand for Mission Australia’s homelessness and housing services has increased by 26 per cent over the past three years.
“During the holiday period, financial and other pressures can increase, and Mission Australia is grateful for the support of the community at this time,” she said.
“Your donations help ensure our frontline staff can provide quality support, compassion and care for people at their time of need.”
“Devastating levels”
The Mission Australia appeal comes as the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare releases their latest homelessness data report.
Citing the new data, which was released on Wednesday, Homelessness Australia said that rough sleeping and homelessness has reached “devastating levels”.
“This is a humanitarian crisis and these shocking new figures must be a wake-up call for governments across Australia,” Homelessness Australia CEO Kate Colvin said.
“We are failing people at every turn – more families, workers and older Australians are being pushed to breaking point by skyrocketing rents and a broken housing system.”
Every single hour across the country, 3,000 people seek help from homelessness services.
Indeed, the housing crisis continues to be a major factor of homelessness in Australia.
Homelessness Australia said that the amount of people seeking help due to housing affordability has increased 15.7 per cent this year.
And around 280,000 people sought help from homelessness agencies this year.
“Up to one-third of people who need short-term or emergency accommodation missed out,” Ms Colvin said.
Getting worse
Ms Colvin said that the Australian Government’s increases to the Rent Assistance scheme and social housing investment have helped. But she says that the AIHW figures show that more must be done.
And the crisis is not only affecting the most vulnerable Australians. Working Australians and their families are losing their permanent homes, according to Homelessness Australia.
“We knew it was bad, but this data shows us it’s getting even worse,” Ms Colvin said.
The amount of people seeking help due to housing affordability has increased 15.7 per cent this year.
“Governments need to step up before the emergency spirals even further out of control.
“The figures we are seeing today represent a failure of policy and lack of political will. It’s time for leaders to ensure no one in Australia is left without the support they need to keep a roof over their head.”
Among the measures Homelessness Australia is calling for, are emergency homelessness investment and an expansion of social housing.
“I just needed to get us out”
Of all the Australians using homelessness services, more than 39 per cent have experienced family and domestic violence, according to the AIHW report.
One woman who received crucial help from Mission Australia is mother-of-one Laura, who was suffering the plight of homelessness last Christmas.
Living with a violent partner, Laura, 30, realised that homelessness was a better option for her and her 5-year-old boy, Ollie.
“I just needed to get us out, anywhere is better than a violent home,” she told the charity.
Working Australians and their families are losing their permanent homes.
Having met with Anna, a domestic violence specialist from Mission Australia, Laura and Ollie escaped the violent home, and then met with a Mission Australia case worker.
They moved to a safe house, and Anna helped them secure permanent housing.
“Everyone deserves a safe and secure home, and we hope our Safe Homes campaign gets people thinking about homelessness and its impact on their communities,” Ms Callister said.
For more information and to donate visit missionaustralia.com.au.
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
Feature image: Mission Australia
About the author: Michael Crooks is a senior journalist and former news editor of Who magazine. His work has appeared in People, Marie Claire, The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, news.com.au, Qantas magazine and more.