Mission Australia – one of the largest providers of homeless services in the country – has expressed its concern at new figures which show that close to 60% of people who need help from government-funded homeless shelters are turned away each day.
The data, released this morning by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, show that each day in 2007-08 about 385 people who requested immediate accommodation at shelters funded under the joint Federal-State Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) were unsuccessful.
Mission Australia’s Chief Executive, Toby Hall, said while numbers had increased only slightly from the previous year (368 in 2006-07), the knowledge that many of the 385 – which include family groups – would have ended up sleeping rough, in cars, or in other dangerous situations was cause for alarm.
“These figures are one more indication that over many years our country’s approach towards helping people out of homelessness has been a failure,” said Mr Hall.
“These numbers – and the tragic individual stories behind them – are shameful. Any level of homelessness in Australia is unacceptable.
“Despite almost two decades of unequalled economic prosperity, by 2007-08 the system for helping homeless people did not have the capacity to meet demand, and that's an indictment on our values and priorities as a society.
“We also need to recognise that these figures only tell part of the story. For every person fronting up at a SAAP service for help there’d be hundreds of others who chose not to – the 'hidden homeless'. I’m thinking of young people couch-surfing temporarily with friends or extended family. Those people don’t get counted in this research.
“Knowing this data collection also took place before the current economic crisis is another reality check. Anecdotally we’re starting to see more families either homeless or at risk of homelessness with the downturn. Without concerted action these numbers will only get worse.
“Thankfully, we have seen a plan for action – the Federal Government's White Paper on homelessness which was released in December 2008 – and we’re confident that it will help bring these numbers down over time.
“The problem of homelessness has been with us a long time, it's become worse over a number of years and it's not about to be fixed over night. But we’re already starting to see action on a number of fronts – for example, in terms of affordable housing and preventing youth homelessness – measures that don’t just address accommodation capacity but also cut the flow of people into homelessness and try and get them on their feet more quickly once they’re there.
We’re hopeful that with this support we’ll start to see the ‘SAAP turn away’ results on the way down over the next few years,” said Mr Hall.
Media inquiries: Paul Andrews 0409 665 495
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