Homeless Australians are going through an acute homelessness crisis. New analysis highlights the alarming increase in mortality rates among people who reach out to specialist homelessness services (SHS). In the 10 years leading up to 2023, nearly 14,000 people of color utilizing these services had their lives cut short. The annual death toll skyrocketed from 914 to 1,459, a disturbing increase of almost 60 percent. Of these deaths, the majority are preventable, underlining the desperate need for a more robust support system.
Women make up about two-thirds of SHS clients. Surprisingly, about two-fifths of these women experience homelessness when they first enter treatment. The median age at death for people experiencing homelessness is only 47. This population is at the greatest risk for many health effects caused by poor housing. They’re more likely to have untreated mental health issues and chronic conditions.
The growing problem of homelessness is made even worse by the raising scarcity of social housing. Between June 2006 and June 2024, the net number of social housing dwellings will have grown by just 45,200. Even with this expansion, social housing units only constituted 4.1 percent of all households in 2024. This is a decrease from 4.8 percent in 2011. Together, these two trends illustrate the widening chasm of affordable housing options available to our most vulnerable populations.
Governments have failed to take meaningful action to address the housing crisis. Dr. Helen Stallman, systemic failures that leave every Australian homeless.
Over the years 2013-2023, the top cause of death among our nation’s peers living without homes is suicide. Moreover, coronary heart disease played a large role in these preventable deaths. Among females, accidental poisoning was responsible for 11–17% of deaths, while suicide was 8.8–16%. Accidental poisoning was the predominant cause of death among males, affecting 15 to 22 percent of decedents. Suicide and coronary heart disease soon became the next most common causes.
Almost half of the fatalities reported were people aged 35 to 54. Even more frightening, nearly one-eighth of these deaths—nearly 1,700 individuals—were in the 25 to 34-year-old demographic. In addition, nearly one in 77 of those deaths were children under 14 years old.
Kate Colvin, the chief executive officer of Homelessness Australia, noted that most of these deaths were actually preventable. She highlighted that the lack of stable housing is one of the biggest drivers of this crisis. She went on to describe how that instability results in worse health outcomes and higher stress. Coronary heart disease is prevalent and deadly. Colvin emphasized that when you are under a high amount of stress, it can become difficult to prepare healthy meals and engage in regular physical activity. We know how heart conditions are pretty much an outcome of all of those experiences.
The current pressures on SHS are compounded by under-resourcing. “There’s just a finite supply of workers and they can only serve so many folks a day,” Colvin continued. In her audit, she noted that homeless services are in fact often inundated. They mainly react to the ones that already made an effort to get help, but often times they must decline new clients.
Colvin emphasized the need for critical changes in the system. “The most critical change needed is the creation of housing integrated with mental health care and support so people can escape homelessness and recover their health and wellbeing.”
Dr. Stallman spoke to this idea. Keith highlighted that no matter someone’s age, access to safe, affordable housing is a prerequisite of healthy living for all. The truth is that everyone needs housing. No one should struggle to afford groceries, let alone during a public health crisis.
A third important facet of this issue is the intersection of homelessness and violence. “It’s very common for people, particularly if they’re rough sleeping, to be subject to violence on the street,” Dr. Stallman explained. She further emphasized how many people currently trying to access homeless services have had to escape domestic violence or violent home situations.
The future negotiations for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will push this transformative change ahead. This is an important opportunity to improve the protections and supports for people with psychosocial disabilities. NICOLE COLVIN, NDS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Colvin announced that the upcoming NDIS bilateral negotiations between the states and territories were pivotal. They offer an opportunity to make life-saving reforms for those with psychosocial disabilities.
These alarming figures coupled with testimony from painting and construction industry experts paint a discouraging picture. In the absence of a major infusion of affordable housing and wraparound support services, homelessness will continue, creating health emergencies and preventable deaths.
She cautioned that isolation and exclusion can add to the mental health burden for people who are homeless. When people cease to make those connections and build relationships, they feel lonely. This isolation increases their difficulty in finding help when they’re confronted with these difficult barriers,” she said.
