Alarming increase in Australia’s ‘working poor’ slipping into homelessness, Homelessness Australia data shows

The number of working families in dire need of emergency help has substantially increased, with one homelessness services provider fearing that the “rise of the working poor” is resulting in families with children “not just struggling” but “slipping into homelessness”. New data from Homelessness Australia found that between 2021-22 to 2023-24, there was a 5 per cent uptick in families with children turning to homelessness services for urgent help. Nominally, this reflected a 4654-person increase, with 92,476 people seeking help from services in that period, with the number of families already homeless at the time of seeking help increasing by 11 per cent. The number of clients with a waged income requiring support has also grown from 10.5 per cent to 12.1 per cent over the two-year period. The nation’s peak body said the sharper rates of homelessness was exacerbated by the housing crisis, plus under-resourced services grappling with years of increased demand. Perth-based provider St Patrick’s Community Support Centre chief Michael Piu said his organisation had reached “unprecedented demand”, with staff now seeing “working families” facing homelessness for the first time. Describing the cohort as the “working poor”, he said supporting families facing homelessness was challenging, with the system set up to respond to single adults. “Families now make up 25 per cent of our case-managed clients and up to 43 per cent of those seeking emergency relief. That’s a sharp increase, and it’s still likely under-reported,” he said. “Right now, we know of at least 92 children sleeping in cars, tents, or other unsafe places, and many are still trying to get to school. “One family with four kids, two with autism, and a mother battling cancer, was couch-surfing for seven months. Her surgery was delayed because they had nowhere to live.” He said the immense demand was resulting in services being unable to give support to those desperately requiring help. “Our services are overwhelmed. We’re doing our best, but we are barely touching the tip of the iceberg in terms of reaching everyone who needs help – let alone giving them the help they need,” he said “We’re seeing the fallout – increased domestic violence, impacts on the health and wellbeing of children, declining mental health. This isn’t just a housing issue. It’s a human one.” Ahead of Labor’s push on productivity, Homelessness Australia chief executive Kate Colvin said Australia’s growing “homelessness emergency” was both a social and economic problem. “How can you hold down a job, contribute to the economy and keep your family safe and physically and mentally well when you don’t have somewhere safe to come home to?” she said. “When children move from couch to couch, or when families are sleeping in cars and tents, looking for the next safe place, parents miss work, and can slip into unemployment, children disengage from school, and the health costs associated with homelessness spiral.” The group has called on the government to create a National Housing and Homelessness Plan with clear targets and timelines to ensure accountability, boost social housing investment to ensure stock accounts for 10 per cent of homes, and increase funding to First Nations organisations. Ms Colvin said desire to fix the problem should be a “no-brainer”. “Being homeless costs a lot of money, and makes it harder for everyday Australians to contribute to their communities, but there are clear actions we can take to end homelessness, while also boosting the economy,” she said. Mr Piu said the sector needed a “national co-ordinated response” and it needs it “now”. “We need to be focused on prevention, early intervention, and providing diverse housing options – to respond to the immediate crisis, and to ensure a strong future for our children and our nation.”