Homelessness is directly related to the rising cost of housing. A recent Saint Vincent de Paul report found that housing costs were a major cause to the creation of disadvantage in Australia. They found that the housing crisis is greatest in capital cities and while housing cost are rising Shelter NSW in 1999 calculated that $231 million had been cut from public housing funding over the past 5 years. As well much of the current public housing is old and rundown and there is a $150 million maintenance backlog.
More widely, many low-income earners are unable to adapt to the rising rents and forced to leave their homes as rents rise. An estimated 11 percent of St Vincent de Paul clients pay over 50 percent of their income on housing with others paying up to 70 percent.
With the current state of the economy, redundancy is a daily issue. The current wave of retrenchments sweeping industries mean that there will be a lot more jobs lost. Australia is in a situation of growing poverty and destitution among families. Unemployment, the lowering of wage levels and cut down of public services have combined to produce a homeless crisis not seen since the great Depression of the 1930’s.
In the world of economy and class, the homeless are treated with contempt and are often referred to as pests. South Sydney Mayor John Towler recently called on charities to halt food services and stop distributing sleeping materials in council parks, declaring that the homeless were upsetting local residents and encouraging vermin.
Jesus identified himself with the poor. In Mathew 25: 31-46 ‘I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink’. Dedication to the poor and disadvantaged is present in the church’s social teaching.
In Pope John Paul II’s message in lent 1997 the Pope spoke of developing special concern for the homeless. He says that the Gospel calls us to be close to Christ who was homeless as an invitation to all to share in the hard ships of their brothers and sisters. He states that it is through openness and generosity as a community and individuals that Christians can serve Christ present in the poor and bear witness to the Father’s love.
The Pontifical Commission declared 2000 the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. The church in Australia funds a number of organizations that work specifically towards helping the homeless. These include
The Australian Council of Social Services
The Australian catholic social Welfare commission
Centercare Australia
Jesuit Social services kids Help line
McKillop Family services
St Vincent de Paul
The Council to Homeless Persons makes submission to the government including submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Federal Budget 1999, submission to the city of Melbourne city plan 1997 while establishing several volunteer projects.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane is responsible for Centercare, which has a family and community service, The Catholic Justice and Peace Community who work to support the powerless and oppressed members of society and is chaired by Bishop John Gerry as well as the Society of St Vincent de Paul. The society provide budget counselling emergency accommodation, family care and support, food banks, hostels for homeless men, and night patrols to visit homeless people delivering sandwiches, tea coffee and to try and alleviate immediate the needs of the homeless.
Brisbane City Council reports that between 300 and 500 people are homeless in inner city Brisbane on any given night. Statistics indicate that obviously not enough is being done by governments. Non profit organizations that rely on volunteer and donations. Report that assistance from all sections of the community is down. Without these donations the problem of homelessness is set to increase .The problem of Homelessness remains an important issue for the Catholic as it strikes to follow the teaching of Christ.