National Homeless Persons’ Week, 6-12 August

One of Sydney’s leading providers of homeless services, Mission Australia, has seen a 13 percent increase in the number of Western Sydney families using its Homeless Brokerage Service in the last six months – and one of the reasons is the rise in Sydney rents.

From January to July this year, Mission Australia’s Homeless Brokerage Service helped 159 families who were homeless, or at risk of homelessness. In the previous six months, the service helped 140 families.

The median weekly rent for a two bedroom dwelling in Blacktown is now around $210 – a 5% increase in the last 12 months (median Sydney rent: $295, a rise of 3.5%). The median price for a three bedroom dwelling in both Blacktown and the Outer West is now around $240 per week – a rise of 4.3% in the last 12 months (median Sydney rent: $300, a rise of 5.3%).

Mission Australia’s Kerry Edgecombe said National Homeless Persons’ Week (6-12 August) is the perfect time to raise the plight of homeless families in Western Sydney and the need for more support services.
“We’re seeing an ever increasing number of Western Sydney families becoming homeless and more families struggling to give their kids the basic essentials,” Ms Edgecombe said.

“It’s the same story whichever Western Sydney agency or charity you speak to – many services have long waiting lists of families.

“Part of the reason is financial stress caused by rising rental costs in Sydney, but there are also other factors at play, including: mental illness, family breakdown and domestic violence.

“Mission Australia is working very closely with other service providers in Western Sydney to meet the needs of homeless families but there is always more that can be done.”

There are currently 24 Federal and State Government funded family accommodation services in NSW – four are in Western Sydney, with just one in South Western Sydney.

Mission Australia’s Homeless Brokerage Service provides early intervention support to people who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness. It assists clients in crisis by immediately responding to their basic needs.

In the past six months, the service has helped 673 adults in Western Sydney with finding accommodation and paying for food, transport fares and providing counselling support.

“Because it is hard to count numbers of homeless people, not many realise there’s a growing homeless problem in Western Sydney. Homelessness is far more visible in the city, because that’s where a lot of the support services are based – and so that’s where individuals and families struggling to find accommodation tend to gravitate.

“Based on the 2001 census, there are about 250 people sleeping rough in Western Sydney on any one night with about 100 people sleeping in abandoned buildings. At times, that number reaches 300.

“However, these figures don’t take into account the number of individuals and families staying in crisis accommodation, sleeping in cars or staying temporarily with friends,” Ms Edgecombe said.

For case studies, interviews and photos, contact Anh Dang (02) 9641 5031 or 0423 028 654