Homelessness update
In Australia there are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night. More than 24,000 of them live in Victoria. These stark statistics were derived from the 2016 census count – and now it’s time for a much-needed update.
This important data collection work is being undertaken in 2021 as part of the latest census count. Census night is on Tuesday 10 August 2021 and gives a snapshot of the Australian population.
Obtaining accurate statistics on homelessness is a vital piece of demographic research to inform the housing sector’s work and build policy that works, including planning and funding for services such as emergency shelters, family violence programs and transitional housing.
In a welcome move, two staff from Tenants Victoria have been seconded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to help with this effort. Our workers are contributing their knowledge, along with other community service providers, to improve the census reach into a traditionally ‘hidden’ population.
The staff, Catherine Dyer and Sarah Davidson, are working as census field officers and for some weeks now have been donning masks and visiting rooming houses in the north and west of Melbourne to safely provide information and liaise with residents to encourage them to participate in the census. Their particular focus is on unregistered rooming houses, which operate on the very margins of affordable housing providers.
Much of Tenants Victoria’s work for renters in information, legal advice and representation during the intensity of the pandemic has been for those who had previously lived in relatively stable accommodation. But one group of renters that has always been at risk of homelessness – and will continue to be so beyond the pandemic – is those who live in rooming houses.
‘Rooming house residents often have few financial resources and may suffer social disadvantage, due to ill-health and lack of literacy, and may have a range of health concerns or experience other disadvantages including family violence. We are also now seeing many more overseas students join the ranks of rooming house residents because of cost pressures,’ said Jennifer Beveridge, CEO of Tenants Victoria.