Joy Burch has made a late bid for biggest statement of the bleeding obvious in 2011. She notes that one third of people accessing the crisis accommodation gateway are “at risk of homelessness”.
About one third of persons accessing the ACT Government’s crisis accommodation gateway First Point are “at risk of homelessness” and living in marginal housing, and almost two-thirds are women, a new profile of Canberra’s homeless population released today shows.
ACT Minister for Community Services Joy Burch said the Measuring Homelessness report shows that more than half of survey respondents were living in secondary homelessness circumstances, meaning they have temporary accommodation but are unable to stay for an extended period.
The report was compiled using data from First Point, the ACT Government’s central intake service for homelessness and crisis accommodation services, as well as a survey of its clients undertaken in the three days immediately following ABS Census Night in August 2011.
The media release comes with a research paper and indigenous breakout.
The Greens have unkindly responded by asking how many of those seeking help were actually housed?
“The Minister has publically announced the numbers of homeless seeking help, and also revealed the high numbers of women, children and young people,” Greens spokesperson for Children & Young People, & Women, Meredith Hunter MLA, said today.
“But it’s not clear how many of the 290 homeless people seeking help were actually housed.
“These are vulnerable people, often fleeing violence. It is totally unacceptable that this problem is hidden and that people in crisis situations are not housed.
“So while we know there is a major social need, we don’t know how the services are responding.
“We do know that national figures indicate high turn away rates – but we don’t know what the ACT turn away rates are.
In general the non-vulnerable who find themselves out of home can afford a hotel until they secure a rental.