The housing crisis in Australia is far from a one-dimensional issue, and the stereotypical image of a homeless person should no longer be what comes to mind. As the housing market becomes tighter, families, elders, and single parents experience an increasing struggle to find stable homes.
Habitat for Humanity Australia is in partnership with The Matthew Talbot Centre, where our Brush with Kindness Program recently helped to refurbish the space – through painting. The centre is a Newcastle based crisis accommodation service for men aged 25 and over, who have found themselves in the vicious cycle of homelessness. Residents can call the centre home for up to three months, while they engage with specialist supports and endeavour to secure more stable housing.
We sat down with Glenn Beatty, the manager of the service centre, to discuss the impact of homelessness, and the reality of the housing crisis that exists on our doorsteps.
Glenn shared, “We’re now seeing men in their 80s who have been long-term renters but have since been evicted”, highlighting the alarming trend of “everyday” individuals being pushed into homelessness due to the lack of affordable rental options. Historically, older people weren’t part of the homeless population, but now they are among the most vulnerable, struggling to find a secure place to live. Some are even being kept for extended hospital stays, creating additional stress on the healthcare service, all because they’re without safe shelter.
What’s equally concerning is the rising number of families facing housing instability. “5-10 years ago, I didn’t see men with kids. They were very infrequent, and now we’re seeing a lot of families, a lot of men who are partnered or single dads,” Glenn notes.
The surge in family homelessness points to the increasingly complex nature of the housing crisis, where the solution isn’t just about putting a roof over someone’s head but also addressing the wider issues that come with unstable housing, from schooling, and work, to community and family cohesion. A poignant example shared by Glenn described a 15-year-old girl who was travelling over 40km a day just to attend the same high school, despite her family’s precarious housing situation.
The inability to find stable housing creates a ripple effect that stretches far beyond just physical shelter. “A period of homelessness can have a really big impact on somebody who is vulnerable… it’s the ongoing struggle to find housing that’s exhausting and depressing for people,” says Glenn.
For many individuals, the lack of a fixed address can also prevent them from securing employment, sucking them further into a cycle of instability, exacerbating the mental and emotional toll that homelessness takes on all involved.
Glenn speaks passionately about the need to prioritise the “Housing First” model, which says that providing stable housing before addressing other issues such as mental health, unemployment, or substance use, offers a more effective approach to tackling homelessness. “If you get someone in a house and they’re safe and secure, you have a much better chance of working on all those other things, we need to provide shelter and then wrap support around that,” Glenn explains.
At Habitat for Humanity Australia, this model rang all too true for us. We’re working to raise awareness on this approach as a critical tool in addressing the housing crisis, emphasising that without a stable home, long-term solutions for mental health, employment, education, and safety remain out of reach.
Interested in partnering or volunteering with us to support crucial services like the Matthew Talbot Centre? Get in touch – we’d love to connect.