SHOCKFACTS: Homelessness

Wednesday, November 17, 1993 - 11:00

  • Every night of the year 100,000 Australians are homeless.

  • Of these, 36,000 are homeless children.

  • Domestic and family violence is the most common reason for people seeking emergency accommodation.

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are more likely to experience homelessness than any other group in Australia. Indigenous people make up 2% of the Australian population and 9% of the homeless population.

  • In the Northern Territory, 40% of homeless people "sleep rough", more than double and in some cases triple the rate in all of the other states and territories.

  • The majority of homeless independent young people aged 12 to 18 years do not attend school, and more than half are unemployed.

[Source: <http://www.afho.org.au/3_news/fact_sheets>. Got a shockfact? Email <glw@greenleft.org.au>.]

From Green Left Weekly, August 25, 2004.

Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

From GLW issue 595