1. Overview of homelessness
How many people are homeless?
Although this is a question that is often asked in relation to homelessness, it is not an easy question to answer. Quantifying the extent of homelessness for particular areas can be difficult.
Census data
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) tries to count the number of people sleeping rough in Australia at each national census. This can be a difficult task given the problems finding all people who may be staying in places that are difficult to find or access such as parks, squats or rural areas. The most recent data currently available is from the 2001 census:
- On census night 2001, an estimated 14,200 people (nation wide) were in the most extreme situation - 'sleeping rough' (i.e. in improvised dwellings or tents, or in streets, parks, cars or derelict buildings).
- A similar number of people (14,300) were staying in emergency or transitional housing, principally in the network of refuges or shelters in the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP).
- A further, large group were defined as homeless because they were staying with another household and had no usual residence (48,600).
- Finally, 22,900 people living in boarding houses were included in the homeless count. In total, 99,900 people were estimated to be homeless in Australia on census night 2001. For every 10,000 people in Australia in 2001, there were 53 homeless people.
National Data Collection Agency (NDCA)
The NDCA is based at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. This agency collects data from services that are funded by the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP).
Services funded by SAAP include:
- Men’s and Women’s crisis hostels
- Domestic violence refuges for women and their children
- Youth refuges
SAAP also funds other homelessness services, such as day centres and information services. The City of Sydney receives some SAAP funding to provide the state-wide service, the Homeless Persons Information Centre.
Data from the SAAP program is included in the information provided by the ABS.
The NDCA publishes a report annually on the analysis of data collected by SAAP services. The most recent report available is for 2004-2005.
NDCA reported that in 2004/05
- SAAP services provided support to an estimated 157,200 people during that year.
- 100,400 were adults and 56,800 were children.
- The average number per night was 8,900.
The NDCA also publishes a range of special reports on homelessness including reports on:
- ‘demand’ for SAAP services
- people with a disability accessing SAAP services
- numbers of women escaping domestic violence.
Homelessness in Inner Sydney – data and estimates
Although there is some significant data available, which is methodologically sound, for Australia, more difficult is estimating the number of people who may be homeless within particular locations, such as the inner areas of large cities or in country towns. Estimates for the inner area of Sydney, using three data sources for 2001 (the most recent year that all three sources are available) was:
- ABS count of rough sleepers in City of Sydney LGA in 2001 was 324 (total for one night).
- SAAP usage figures for the year 2001-02 indicated that services located in the City LGA provided 15,280 ‘support periods’ (an individual may have had more than one occasion of support) which assisted a total of 6,130 clients (total for year).
- The City’s Homeless Persons Information Centre (HPIC) indicates that there were 17,669 calls made from a City of Sydney location. Most people only ever phone once, but a smaller number phone HPIC on multiple occasions. This is especially the case for the persistently homeless who tend to congregate in the inner city. The 17, 669 calls to HPIC from inner Sydney represented 2,980 individuals or family groups (total for year). The total number of calls to HPIC from anywhere in NSW in 2001-02 was 43,151.
Any level of homelessness in our community is a concern
Although it is important to understand the numbers of people who are homeless, because this can help us to measure if our activities to assist homeless people have been successful, any level of homelessness within our community is of great concern. It is an issue that we can and should all contribute to and one which through the provision of appropriate housing and support services that we, as a society, can address.
Essential for us to work together
It is important that services who work with the homeless and other disadvantaged people work in a co-ordinated and constructive way to assist people and help them to access appropriate accommodation or housing, health or mental health services, drug and alcohol services, income support and other community services.
It is possible to exit homelessness and there are many examples of people having done so. We should neither expect or accept high levels of homelessness within our communities.
City of Sydney Homelessness Strategy 2007 – 2012
The City of Sydney, in co-ordination with other community services and government agencies is taking steps to address homelessness within the inner city. The City’s Homelessness Strategy 2007 – 2012 was recently on public exhibition and has now been adopted by Council (August 2007). City of Sydney Homelessness Strategy 2007 – 2012. Feel free to click on the link above and look through the strategy for a description of some of the issues, the focus, the projects and services the City will be working on over the 5 year period.
Key points
- Estimating the numbers of people experiencing homelessness in a specific location is a difficult task. The ABS tries to do this at every national census.
- Any level of homelessness in our communities should be of concern to us all.
- The ABS reports that 99,900 people were estimated to be homeless in Australia on census night 2001. This figure includes rough sleepers, people using crisis accommodation and people who were staying with friends or family but who reported no usual residence.
- Inner Sydney may have approximately 300 rough sleepers on any given night.
- In the year 2001-02 approximately 6000 people used crisis accommodation hostels within inner city Sydney.
- Services in each community need to work together to address homelessness.
