CONNECT | SPRING 2010
INTERNATIONAL
The Road Home Travis Gilbert, Policy and Research Officer at Homelessness Australia, reviews some of the positive steps the Australian Government is taking to reduce homelessness and looks at what else needs to happen to make their ambitious targets a reality.
In December 2008, Homelessness Australia
family violence is the biggest cause of homelessness.
welcomed the release of the first ever White Paper on
It is therefore disappointing that more funding was
homelessness, The Road Home. The White Paper set the
not allocated to projects that address this cause of
ambitious goal of halving homelessness by 2020.
homelessness.
Since the release of the White Paper, there have been a
We know that 40 per cent of people who are homeless
number of developments. At a national level, plans are
as adults were first homeless as young people, and
underway for the development of a new data collection
stopping this transition into adult homelessness will go a
system, and a national homelessness research strategy is
long way towards meeting the 2020 targets. The White
being produced. Each Australian state and territory has
Paper expands the models to support young people in
developed an Implementation Plan to determine how
state care to move on to independent living. Currently,
it will allocate the funding they receive. New initiatives,
one in three young people who leave care will be
programs and services announced in these plans will no
homeless within 12 months.
doubt play an important role in reducing homelessness over the next decade.
Responding to the needs of children experiencing or
Although we welcome the significant funding
with more than 12,000 children, aged 12 and under,
commitments made under the White Paper, we are
currently homeless each night. A number of initiatives
concerned that almost all funding has been allocated
were announced in the Implementation Plans to
to new programs and services, with many not coming
increase such support for children but we can and must
onboard until the middle of this year. Existing specialist
do more.
at risk of homelessness must become a national priority
homelessness services, however, have not received a notable increase in funding. If Australia is to meet the
Homelessness is a complex social problem and in a
target of halving homelessness by 2020 then funding
country as prosperous as Australia it is incumbent on us
allocated to specialist homelessness services will need
to work towards ending it. The road home may not be
to increase significantly.
straight forward but, with the right support, the vision set
Focused support
out in the White Paper can become a reality.
Meeting the 2020 targets will require a considerable and
To find out more about Homelessness Australia
specific focus on women, young people and children.
visit: www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au. You can
In Australia approximately 45 per cent of people
download a copy of The Road Home’ white paper at:
who are homeless are women, and domestic and
http://bit.ly/roadhome WWW.HOMELESS.ORG.UK
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