Recent data indicates a disturbing trend of escalating homelessness for First Nations families in Victoria. This concerning trend has led to immediate outcry and pleas for government action. According to experts, when youth do not have stable housing, they are more than twice as likely to become homeless as adults. Kate Colvin, a representative from Homelessness Australia, emphasizes the critical need for a dedicated First Nations-led housing and homelessness plan to address the issue effectively.
Aboriginal people in Victoria experience shocking stats. In fact, they are 15 times as likely to become homeless than the rest of the population. Additionally, First Nations children are 21.7 times more likely to go into out-of-home care. That recent 12 percent increase should serve as a wake-up call, highlighting our urgent need to act. It finds that most First Nations families are literally homeless by the time they come looking for help.
Darren Smith, a prominent advocate, argues that homelessness is merely a symptom of deeper systemic injustices faced by Aboriginal communities. He hopes this will raise awareness about the generational disadvantage suffered by many First Nations families. This historical disadvantage has resulted in a major wealth gap, leaving them more susceptible during periods of crisis. About 7,000 Aboriginal people are currently on the waiting list for social housing in Victoria. Smith maintains that if we are serious about providing culturally safe and appropriate housing solutions, then we must invest more in the Aboriginal community-controlled sector.
Read more about the need for early intervention to prevent homelessness from Colvin’s On the Edge blog. She notes that people who access services for homelessness before a storm or disaster are 93% less likely to become homeless. Specifically, these early interventions have proven to be effective – saving a success rate of 80 percent. She cautions that the crisis needs to be tackled urgently. If it’s not, the cost of repairing these problems will continue to increase.
According to child welfare expert and scholar, Dr. Erika Martino, this is part of a troubling trend. Half of all Aboriginal children in the child protection system are currently presenting to homelessness services, looking for help. She calls for more working upstream to address these challenges and stop future generations from experiencing mass removals of children from their families.
In her timely report, Colvin argues for a major paradigm shift in the ways housing policies are created and applied. Through her work, she points to the limits of one-size fits all social housing models. Further, she leads the charge on policies that recognize the unique needs of Aboriginal communities.
“Homelessness Australia is seeking to resolve that by really calling for a change in direction from the government. So we want to see a dedicated First Nations led housing and homelessness plan to really put Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in charge of what the solutions are and delivering those resources. Because what we can see is that it hasn’t worked when governments have just made decisions for First Nations communities and delivered resources in ways that haven’t been successful.” – Kate Colvin
The biggest worry, as always, is that the resources haven’t been enough to meaningfully address homelessness. Smith urges a more drastic approach Norman 7, arguing that both federal and state interventions have not done nearly enough to address the escalating housing crisis. He compares it to COVD-19 and other public health emergencies, where spending skyrocketed in response to urgent needs.
“The main issue with federal and state interventions in homelessness is that there’s just simply not enough resourcing. So for example, when we have a health crisis like COVID, there was a huge surge in investment into hospitals because there was a recognition that more people would need that emergency intervention. But we have had a growing and growing and growing housing crisis in this country, and the governments just haven’t responded by increasing investment in homelessness services.” – Darren Smith
Colvin draws attention to the lasting impact that housing instability can have on children’s educational outcomes. She notes that children experiencing homelessness often struggle to maintain their educational engagement, which can lead to adverse outcomes later in life.
“It’s very difficult for children to stay connected to their education in that circumstance. Even if they’re going to school, they might really struggle to fully participate in the classroom. So it has then often a long-term impact with adults who are homeless, particularly rough sleeping, often having had their first experience of homelessness as a child.” – Darren Smith
The urgency of culturally appropriate housing solutions is no less important for being self-evident. Displacement leads to housing insecurity, which as detailed in this piece by Colvin, has a large body of evidence connecting it to negative physical and mental health impacts. People who are homeless have a higher prevalence of chronic illness and conditions like depression and anxiety.
“There is a large body of evidence both generated from within my research group and internationally that shows that homelessness and housing insecurity are strongly linked to poor physical and also poor mental health outcomes.” – Kate Colvin
