This week is Homelessness Week and never has there been a greater demand for support of these vulnerable members of our community.
In 2020-21 Housing Plus saw 1,456 people seeking homelessness support. This is an increase of 5% on the previous year, in part as the lack of affordable housing in the Region becomes more acute.
“Renters, first time homebuyers and people who just need a safe roof over their heads are finding it increasingly difficult to do so in Orange. Despite Housing Plus providing some 22 new homes in the city since 2019 with a further 10 planned, there has been a net decrease in properties available for rent that are affordable” says David Fisher, CEO of Housing Plus.
Over the past 12 months there has been a substantial increase in the number of “No Grounds 90 Days Terminations” being issued to tenants across Orange, Cabonne and Blayney. Housing Plus’s Homelessness Service Team are seeing people who have been in those tenancies for up to 25 years and are aged in their seventies, being issued with these termination notices. “Many of these tenants have not had to view or apply for a rental during that time and with the lack of rental properties across the region many are facing homelessness through no fault of their own. A desperate situation for older people in our community to face” says David Fisher
90 Days No Grounds Terminations are often used by landlords as a legal means for them to terminate a rental agreement and remove the current tenant so they can conduct renovations and then increase the asking price of the rent.
Housing Plus also provides housing support services to our community in Orange with Social and affordable housing demand also increasing over the last 12 months. Currently there are over 300 people on the wait list in Orange with a wait time of 2-5 years for a 1, 2 or 3-bedroom property or 5-10 year wait for a 4+ bedroom property, meaning often people are spending a large portion of their lives at risk of homelessness.
“Last month Orange had only two properties available for rent at levels we could afford to provide for homeless clients” says Penny Dordoy, Head of Community Services for Housing Plus.
For those who are at risk of homelessness, Housing Plus can assist in several ways. Penny says, “We provide crisis and transitional housing to people that are already homeless, but we also help to prevent homelessness by supporting people to sustain their tenancy. We actually prefer to start working with people at this point, before they get to the situation where homelessness is a serious risk for them, their outcomes are generally better if we are able to provide this early intervention support.”
Homelessness facts and stats
- Orange Homelessness Service supported 1,456 people in 2020/21; 819 of whom were women, 637 whom were men, including 433 people who were seeking help have been diagnosed with a mental health condition.
- The 2016 Census found that there were 116,000 Australians experiencing homelessness on Census night and that NSW has the highest rate of homelessness in the country.
- Over half of people presenting at services cite family violence or relationship breakdown as a reason for seeking assistance.
- Homelessness has grown by 13.7% in the last four years
- 40% of people who are homeless are under 25 years of age
- 6% of people who are homeless actually sleep on the streets
- A recent report by Equity Economics, commissioned by the Community Housing Industry Association NSW, forecasts the benefits of building 5,000 extra social housing dwellings each year. The modelling shows the investment would also see 750 fewer people entering homelessness each year, creating cost savings of $13 million in avoided health and social services costs.
About Homelessness Week
Homelessness Week is an annual, nation-wide campaign to highlight the work of the homelessness sector and recognise barriers to ending homelessness across Australia.
It is an opportunity to raise awareness about why people become homeless, the effect on individuals and the community.