BeyondHousing says 2900 social housing homes needed to address homeless crisis

In 2019-20, BeyondHousing helped 1269 separate cases of homelessness — that’s a depressing 3.4 cases every day of the year. It's a jump of 11.6 per cent on the previous year.

Of those clients, almost one in three was sleeping rough — freezing nights in our streets and parks, by rivers, or squatting in derelict, often dangerous, buildings; anything to get out of the weather even for just one night.

In the past 12 months BeyondHousing’s client services have been under siege. More than 2000 people have flooded through the front door; that's an average of more than seven a day, every day. Those numbers are 23 per cent up on the previous year.

Chief executive Celia Adams has tried hard to maintain the pragmatic approach her job demands, but knows the endless parade through her front door is only the tip of a frighteningly big iceberg — with numbers expected to skyrocket as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold.

“We know as of March 2020 there were almost 1300 people on the Victorian housing waitlist in the Shepparton region,” she said.

“We also know there were 600 people homeless on census night in 2016.

“But the need for social housing is even higher than the homelessness figures show, because there are now people on low incomes spending well over 30 per cent of their income putting a roof over their head.

“And that data was collected before the COVID pandemic struck in early 2020.

“The current figures are expected to be more damning, even taking into consideration some rough sleepers have been put in temporary accommodation during the pandemic.

“Our housing market has been allowed to become too expensive and our lowest incomes have been allowed to stay too low.”

BeyondHousing’s client support services include homelessness services, private rental support and advocacy, and tenancy support for people in social housing.

There are three main reasons people presented to BeyondHousing in the past year.

The first two were inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (34 per cent) and financial difficulties (19.63 per cent).

The third was relationship and family breakdown (14.6 per cent) — the first time this reason has been in the top three — replacing housing crises such as being evicted.

The number of clients who said they were experiencing family violence increased by 1.5 per cent on the previous year, to 13.5 per cent.

But the most disturbing increase was in mental health. The number of people experiencing mental health issues when presenting has exploded to 24.7 per cent. That’s an increase of 9.7 per cent from the previous year.

Of Shepparton households experiencing homelessness, more than 50 per cent were single people. Almost one in five were one parent with a child, while couples without children accounted for 8.6 per cent and couples with children, 7.6 per cent.

One in five clients identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Ms Adams said a major misconception around homelessness was that all people who were homeless “sleep rough”.

“Homelessness is often hidden,” she said.

“One quarter of Shepparton households presenting to our services for support were sleeping rough.

“But the majority were couch surfing, staying in overcrowded homes or in temporary accommodation like caravan parks and motels.”

Once a person became homeless, she said it was “really tough” for them to break back into the rental market.

“They can face significant personal barriers such as poor or no rental history or low incomes; which make many housing options out of reach,” she said.

“Or there is a critical lack of affordable private rental properties and a huge demand for any that do become available.

“This is particularly the case for single people on JobSeeker or Youth Allowance.”

Ms Adams said a lack of affordable safe and secure long-term housing in the federal electorate of Nicholls was a major barrier for escaping homelessness.

“We are asking the Federal Government to invest in social housing, as they have a role to play alongside the states,” she said.

“We have previously seen the Federal Government prepared to significantly invest in social housing during the Global Financial Crisis as a way of both increasing housing supply and stimulating the economy.

“This is what we are asking the Federal Government to do now.

“This is a crisis that extends beyond state borders and political divides, this is about delivering a basic human right for all Australians.”

While Ms Adams praised the Victorian Government for providing extra funding to keep people in crisis accommodation during the pandemic, she said support must continue.

“The challenge will come now the moratorium on evictions is ending, along with the reduction in JobSeeker and lack of affordable housing available in the region,” she said.

“The Victorian Government also needs to commit greater funding to long-term social housing construction as well as continue to fund homelessness prevention services.”

More about Shepparton's homelessness crisis

Wide range of Shepparton homelessness services supporting struggling locals

Jayme McCrae, 21, has been homeless for five months

Battling grief, trauma and schizophrenia, Scott Dalfonso is also homeless

Homelessness: A 21st century tragedy - Scott’s story | PODCAST

Homelessness: A 21st century tragedy - Jayme’s story | PODCAST