Homelessness matters

The global situation 

Across the planet there are over 100 million people living or working on the streets. Homeless people aren’t just the random folks you see sleeping on the street. Anyone in danger of losing their home—anyone who has an insecure place to live—is homeless. 

By the end of the decade, nearly 1.2 billion young people will be between the ages of 15-24. About 85% of them will be in developing countries and up to 100 million living or working on the streets. 

By 2015, there will be 95 million unemployed youth. They are an untapped resource, particularly as young people under 34 are at their most entrepreneurial age.

The local situation

• On any night, 105,000 Australians are defined as homeless.
• Of these, 26,060 are youth aged 12-18.
• Many of these youth will drop out of the education system and become long-term unemployed.
• In Victoria there are over 23,000 people homeless on any given night, sleeping in motels, hostels, temporary housing or on the streets.
• 7,000 are young people aged between 12 and 24 years.
• 14% of 15-19 year olds in Victoria are not infull-time school, study or work.

Counting the cost

The costs associated with keeping a homeless person on the streets are enormous – costs for physical and mental healthcare, crisis accommodation, policing, criminal justice, housing assistance, welfare benefits and charity services.