Homelessness Week 2023 “It’s time to end homelessness”
August 7 to Sunday August 13 ~ Homelessness Week 2023
“It’s time to end homelessness”.
For a week each year the community focuses on the multifaceted dilemma of homelessness and home insecurity~ seeking a solution ~ a resolution~ in this our ‘lucky country’.
For those for whom this precarious and vulnerable position is the reality of life, the week will stretch beyond the week and the solutions and resolutions are out of grasp.
Carevan Blacktown joined the Workers Lifestyle group for the recent CEO sleep out event – a cold and wet June night, giving us the briefest of glimpses into the uncertainty and insecurity of of “living” with homelessness – a state of being for so many, and a multifactorial and multi-faceted reality.
We had tents to sleep in and a mattress on the ground, a meal provided, entertainment and the surety of a warm shower, a bed, somewhere to brush our teeth and a home to go to the next day .. For those affected by homelessness this is not the case ~ no home and no security… no warm comforts to help them endure the nights or any reassurance about a meal or a safe place to sleep the next night.
There is much to be done .. and lots of discussion this week especially, about rising costs of living and housing availability and the fact that many people are struggling to meet the basics of life. Carevan helps where we we are able and we are open to all .. it’s a warm room, company and a bowl of sustenance plus a little extra goodie or two provided by our amazing community and the Carevan Blacktown family.
It’s a little bit …. but its not enough
The facts;
On any given night, 122,494 people in Australia are experiencing
homelessness (ABS Census 2021).
One in seven people experiencing homelessness are children under 12 (ABS Census 2021).
23 per cent of people experiencing homelessness (almost one in 4) are children and young people between 12 and 24 (ABS Census 2021).
One in five people experiencing homelessness are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people (ABS Census 2021).
Homelessness is not “rooflessness”. Only 6.2 per cent of people without a home are sleeping rough. The majority of homelessness is hidden – people in crisis accommodation, rooming houses, insecure housing,
overcrowded dwellings or couch surfing.
