Burnie foreshore event shows support for a growing number of Tasmanians

The St Vincent De Paul Society (Tas) held a community drop-in event in Burnie during August as a part of Homelessness Awareness Week.

The informal drop-in styled presence, in a key public thoroughfare, encouraged people to come and sit on the couch to discuss homelessness from their perspective. Held on the foreshore in Burnie, the couch was intended to symbolise the situation that many find themselves in when couch surfing – an all too frequent situation for those experiencing homelessness.

The 2024 Homelessness Awareness Week theme was ‘homelessness action now’ and organisations across the sector used the week to advocate for more support to those experiencing homelessness, including the issues they face and the action needed to implement effective solutions.

The last census figures from 2021 showed 2,350 Tasmanians to be homeless, a 45 per cent increase from the previous Census, and we know that those statistics have only continued to grow since that time.

The Society’s Tasmanian President Corey McGrath said the cost of living crisis would mean that number is now considerably higher, with the Society seeing an 18 per cent increase in requests for emergency relief by the end of June 2024.

“We have seen just more than 3,500 Tasmanians come through the doors seeking emergency relief between January and June, compared to 2,900 at the same time last year,” Mr McGrath said.

“People could become homeless for many reasons including loss of income or employment, the lack of affordable housing and family breakdowns, including domestic violence.

“For some Tasmanians homelessness is temporary, but for too many others the pursuit of safe, affordable and secure housing is incredibly difficult. These people go far too long without a place to call home and the impact on their lives is dramatic.

“This is an important event as it provides everyone who attends with an opportunity to hear from those who have experienced homelessness.

“It delivers scope to understand the work that is being done by individuals and organisations attempting to assist those currently experiencing homelessness, while also deepening awareness that so much more is still to be achieved.

“We have reached a critical point in Tasmania where we are in desperate need of social and affordable housing to assist the exponential number of people experiencing homelessness.”

The Society is encouraging all governments to continue to work together to solve the pressures of homelessness, with much more work needed to be done.

An awareness breakfast was also held in Hobart and an awareness walk was delivered in Launceston as part of the activities around the state during the week. All events were very well attended by Vincentian members, staff, sector organisations and elected members. We thank them for helping us to draw attention to these key issues and add to our advocacy efforts in seeking ‘homeless action now’.