Editorial
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During the past several months, the Mercury has profiled a series of Illawarra individuals and families who are either experiencing homelessness, or at risk of being homeless.
The stories have spanned from men sleeping in cars and tents on the beach, to those currently couch surfing or staying in temporary accommodation, as well as struggling families mere days away from being out on the street.
Recently released Census figures showed homelessness in NSW jumped by more than 30 per cent between the 2011 and 2016 surveys.
While the increase in the Illawarra was much lower (up by four per cent), Wollongong council last year revealed homelessness had increased by 85 per cent in the Wollongong LGA over the past decade.
As well, it said that more than 9000 Wollongong households were experiencing housing stress and struggling to pay their rent or mortgages.
Clearly these are issues that require a multi-faceted response.
Wollongong councillors have agreed to investigate what they can do to address the growing problem of housing affordability.
Recently launched national housing campaign ‘Everybody’s Home’ is uniting the not-for-profit housing, homelessness and community sectors and the country’s largest charities in calling for Australia’s housing system to be re-balanced.
Campaign spokesperson Kate Colvin said Australia is at risk of becoming a nation divided by housing need unless federal and state governments intervene.
Wollongong Emergency Family Housing and Wollongong Homeless Hub are one of several Illawarra organisations working on the frontlines.
Manager Mandy Booker backed the campaign, calling for a greater national conversation about homelessness.
“The campaign is about looking at the housing system and acknowledging that it’s currently broken,” she said.
“We need a lot more affordable housing, but we don’t just need the housing to be affordable, it needs to be stable.”
In the interim, the Mercury will aim to continue to highlight the interlinked issues of homelessness, housing affordability and the often harsh nature of the region’s rental market.
But we hope one day that stories such as the ones we’ve profiled in recent times won’t be so prevalent.
