Homelessness NSW

Last updated

Homelessness NSW is the peak body organisation representing homelessness services in New South Wales, Australia. [1] Homelessness NSW advocates on behalf of agencies and homeless people across NSW, with a particular focus on single men, single women, families and children. [2]

Homelessness circumstance when people desire a permanent dwelling but do not have one

Homelessness is defined as living in housing that is below the minimum standard or lacks secure tenure. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: living on the streets ; moving between temporary shelters, including houses of friends, family and emergency accommodation ; living in private boarding houses without a private bathroom and/or security of tenure. The legal definition of homeless varies from country to country, or among different jurisdictions in the same country or region. According to the UK homelessness charity Crisis, a home is not just a physical space: it also provides roots, identity, security, a sense of belonging and a place of emotional wellbeing. United States government homeless enumeration studies also include people who sleep in a public or private place not designed for use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. People who are homeless are most often unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure and adequate housing due to a lack of, or an unsteady income. Homelessness and poverty are interrelated.

New South Wales State of Australia

New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In September 2018, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

Contents

Positions

Homelessness NSW has argued that current voting laws in Australia do not account for the situation of homeless people. For example, women escaping domestic violence may feel unsafe attending a public polling booth, however, fear for safety is not a valid excuse for requiring a postal vote. And rough sleepers may lack valid identification. [3]

The organisation has stated that the general lack of affordable housing in Australia has clogged up the crisis system as people could not be moved on to more permanent living arrangements. [4] [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

Homeless women in the United States

Women and families represent the fastest growing groups of the homeless population in the United States. Approximately 34% of the homeless population are families with children. Among homeless families, 67 percent are female-headed. Most homeless families in the United States are led by a young single mother without familial support and material resources.

UnitingCare Australia is the national body for the UnitingCare network, made up of the Uniting Church in Australia's (UCA) community services agencies.

The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) is an Australian organisation that advocates for action to reduce poverty and inequality, and is the peak body for the community services sector in Australia. It was formed in 1956.

Homelessness in Australia

Homelessness in Australia is a social issue concerning the number of people in Australia that are considered to be homeless, especially in recent few years of g20-land in the eastern provinces since 2014. There are no internationally agreed upon definitions of homelessness, making it difficult to compare levels of homelessness across countries. A majority of people experiencing homelessness long-term in Australia are found in the large cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. It is estimated that on any given night approximately 105,000 people will be homeless and many more are living in insecure housing, "one step away from being homeless". A person who does not obtain any shelter is often described as sleeping 'rough'.

Homelessness in the United Kingdom is measured and responded to in differing ways in England, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but affects people living in all areas of the countries.

In Australia, domestic violence is defined by Family Law Act 1975 as "violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person's family, or causes the family member to be fearful".

Youth Homelessness Matters Day According to the National Youth Coalition for Housing the 2018 Youth Homelessness Maters day was held on 18 April 2018.(YHMD) is an annual day which seeks to highlight the issue of youth homelessness in Australia. YHM Day is supported by the National Youth Coalition for Housing. NYCH supports and informs groups across the country who wish to inform the community about youth homelessness.

Department of Family and Community Services (New South Wales)

The New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) is a former department of the Government of New South Wales and was previously responsible for the delivery of services to some of the most disadvantaged individuals, families and communities in the state of New South Wales, Australia until July 2019.

Women In Prison Advocacy Network organization

The Women in Prison Advocacy Network is an incorporated not-for-profit charity based in Sydney, Australia. WIPAN is a volunteer-based organisation and focuses on advocacy around issues affecting female prisoners, providing support to women exiting prison through its mentoring program, with the aim to reduce rates of female incarceration and recidivism. The organisation's work involves undertaking research and systemic advocacy around the needs of women prisoners and ex-prisoners at an institutional level, whilst also assisting ex-prisoners at an individual level through its mentoring program, the only such non-government service in New South Wales (NSW).

Caretakers Cottage organization

Caretakers Cottage is an Australian non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Sydney assisting children and young adults facing homelessness. Caretakers Cottage is funded by the New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services to provide services for young people across Sydney's South-Eastern district. Services include short-term, emergency accommodation, semi-independent living options, case support and early intervention for young people at risk of homelessness.

Yfoundations is a peak body organisation of youth homelessness services in New South Wales, Australia. The organisation advocates on behalf of member organisations to governmental bodies and agencies to provide policy and structural advocacy, services for young people, health projects, and research and sector development.

Laurie Matthews founded Caretakers Cottage a youth homelessness service in Sydney, Australia and currently serves as CEO. Laurie was also a founding member Yfoundations, a peak body organisation for youth homelessness in New South Wales. and has served on the Yfoundations board for a number of years between 1989 and 2011.

Southern Youth and Family Services (SYFS) is a non-profit organisation which operates a number of youth homelessness programs in regional New South Wales, Australia. Among the organisation's program is a crisis youth refuge in Wollongong, a youth and family centre in Warilla, as well as the Resourcing Adolescents to Gain Essentials Scheme (RAGE) in Nowra which provides material/financial support for bond, moving expenses, travel, financial support, detox and rehab.

Youth Action is the peak body organisation for young people and youth services in New South Wales, Australia. Previously known as Youth Action Policy Association (YAPA), the organisation represents 1.25 million young people and the services that support them.

Coast Shelter is a non-profit organisation assisting homeless young people and adults in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The service was founded in 1992 as Gosford Emergency Accommodation Services. The service's predecessor was the Rumbalara Youth Refuge established by Gosford City Council in 1985. Since the its founding, the organisation has assisted over 16,000 individuals.

Detour House is a non-profit organisation servicing homeless and other at-risk girls and women, based in Sydney, Australia. Detour House also incorporates The Girls Refuge, a crisis accommodation service for homeless girls.

Homelessness Australia (HA) is the national peak body organisation for homelessness services and homeless people in Australia. The organisation provides systemic advocacy for the sector and works in collaboration with support services, state and national homelessness organisations, other peak organisations, government agencies and the broader community. Homelessness Australia was formed in late 1998 as the Australian Federation of Homelessness Organisations (AFHO) by the Council to Homeless Persons Australia (CHPA), National Youth Coalition for Housing (NYCH), and Women's Services Network (WESNET). The organisation was established with the mission of advancing research and promoting national policy and action to reduce homelessness.

Homelessness SA is the peak body organisation representing homelessness services in South Australia. The group was formed in 2001 as a merger of three peak body groups which separately represented homeless men, women and youth. The groups were Youth Housing Network (YHN), Council to Homeless Persons SA (CHPSA), and the Women’s Emergency Services Coalition (WESC). Homelessness SA advocates on behalf of agencies and homeless people across SA.

Toora Women is an Australian non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in the Australian Capital Territory assisting women and children facing homelessness. Toora Women is funded by the Australian Government and the ACT Government to provide homelessness and substance abuse services for women across the Australian Capital Territory. Services include short-term, emergency accommodation, long-term accommodation, case support and rehabilitation.

Samaritans Foundation is an Australian based charity operating in New South Wales. The organisation provides a number of social support services for the homeless and people with disabilities.

References

  1. ↑ "Home - Homelessness NSW".
  2. ↑ "Community Services - Peak bodies".
  3. ↑ http://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=em/elect07/subs/sub131.pdf
  4. ↑ Ireland, Judith (3 February 2016). "The homeless plight of domestic violence victims: report".
  5. ↑ Karp, Paul; Safi, Michael (12 February 2016). "How Sydney's overheated housing market keeps young people on the streets" – via The Guardian.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.