Concerning trend in cost of living crisis as demand for homelessness service jumps
More Australians are just a rent rise away from homelessness as the number of people seeking help skyrockets.
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The number of people reaching out for help because of homelessness has skyrocketed, according to one organisation which is struggling to keep up with demand.
Wayside Chapel has seen the demand for support services surge by 92 per cent and the number of clothes and meals given to the community double compared to 2022.
The organisation is now helping 316 people each day at its Kings Cross and Bondi centres in Sydney, an increase of 100 people compared to last year’s winter period.
Wayside chief executive the Reverend Jon Owens attributes the increase in people seeking its services to the growing inflation crisis, adding the demographic of people reaching out for help has changed.
“We’re seeing a lot more people who are from working class backgrounds, people who have spent their entire lives kind of making ends meet and all of a sudden have found that a rent increase here or an unexpected medical or utility bill there has made the difference,” he said.
“People are thinking ‘I’ve spent my life working and now I find myself, you know, suddenly on the brink of homelessness’.”
One in 200 Australians – or an estimated 122,494 people – sleep rough every night.
He blames the skyrocketing cost of rent for the main reason Australians are struggling, saying it is “tipping people over the edge” and that more needed to be done.
Advertised rents have increased by 11.1 per cent in the year to March, according to PropTrack, with the average cost of renting a home in a capital city sitting at $520 per week.
“There needs to be a significant increase in support to people who are suffering under the impacts of rent increases,” he said.
“And also support around some utility bills, particularly as we’re in our coldest months and Sydney households just aren’t equipped to retain heat.”
Rev Owens says the consequences of the cost of living crisis can be disastrous and called on people to consider donating to Wayside Chapel’s winter appeal as many Australians battle winter.
“We’re all familiar with people who have to make decisions between do I heat or do I eat,” he said
He also called out comments from public figures such as Reserve Bank Governor Phil Lowe, who advised Australians to bring in a housemate or work more if they are struggling to stay afloat.
“We’ve already heard people say ‘just get another job or just move in together’, from people who are on salaries in the six figures,” Rev Owens said.
“I’d rather see those people spending time with someone who has made the decision not to address their physical health so they can feed their kids.”
Originally published as Concerning trend in cost of living crisis as demand for homelessness service jumps
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