Homelessness is now very visible in Adelaide's CBD.
For a few days this week I have been walking around the city streets early in the morning (ie., between 6.30--8.30 am) and I couldn't help but notice that there are a lot of (white) people sleeping rough.
They are sleeping in secluded corners in alleyways or secluded spaces on side streets that provide them with some shelter from the increasing autumn rains. They leave their possessions there during the day and I see them the following morning. Their particular spot functions as their space in a public space. It cannot be safe living on the streets and health must be a serious issue for the street homeless. .
Without a home (ie., not having a secure and safe homeI) means that you can’t make appointments, you’ve got no way of structuring your life, you’ve got nothing that’s safe. Without a home, you’re living day by day with anyone you run into.
Adelaide has a homelessness problem.
There has been a substantial decrease in the availability of low cost accommodation in recent years, and there are huge waiting lists for public and community housing (with most people waiting years). There isn't enough low cost housing being built in spite of the increasing poverty and the structural inequalities in health and education.
The City of Adelaide (ie., the council) does not have a role in the provision (direct delivery) of homelessness services, crisis accommodation, social housing or affordable housing.That is a state and federal responsibility. Their role is one of facilitator and advocate.
The State Government's Our Housing Future 2020 – 2030 is its response to the current an unprecedented housing crisis: house prices are increasing much faster than wages, rental vacancies are at record lows, rents are rising and as many homeless people can't afford to rent privately so there's more people out there waiting for housing. The percentage of income young tenants spend on rent is around 59% in Adelaide.
It's a crisis.
It is a warped housing system and public housing is a disaster. A lot public housing is in really bad condition. Some of the public housing is very old and poorly maintained, whilst a lot of the older properties are decrepit.There are 17,000 people on the waiting list for public housing in South Australia, with nearly 4,000 of those in category one, deemed in urgent need of shelter. The South Australian government's plan is to build 400 new public houses.
The Albanese government’s A$10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund could begin to turn the housing crisis around, but it is only a beginning. People most need supported housing if they are to get their lives back on track.