Citywide homelessness emergency declared
A “homelessness emergency” has been declared across the Adelaide CBD and North Adelaide, and regions across the state are being urged to follow suit.
Adelaide City councillors have declared a homelessness emergency across the CBD and North Adelaide saying it was experiencing “unacceptable levels” of homelessness and rough sleeping.
Latest numbers from the Adelaide Zero Project show just in the city of Adelaide there are between 200 and 240 people now sleeping rough every night, camping in the park lands, sleeping in doorways or seeking out shelters.
These figures do not account for homelessness throughout the rest of the state and come alongside the Adelaide Zero Project established in 2018 having long-missed its target to end rough sleeping in the inner city of Adelaide by 2025.
The move was spearheaded by councillor Phillip Martin at a meeting on Tuesday night, Martin claiming current levels of homelessness were the worst he had seen in his lifetime.
The decision would spur the council into leading a community wide approach to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping working with sector providers, state and federal agencies to ensure there was adequate crisis accommodation in Adelaide.
Adelaide City Council would also encourage other local government areas to declare a homelessness emergency and lobby for all levels of government to develop policies to help Australians avoid homelessness.
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Councillors also voted to provide additional support to rough sleepers during “code red” extreme heat weather emergencies, with care packages that include a hat, sunscreen, reusable water bottle, electrolyte sachets and muesli bars to be provided through libraries.
“There are hundreds of people sleeping on the streets of Adelaide at this time, but, worse still, it extends across the entire state,” Martin said.
“There is a homelessness crisis. Most councils are talking about it and this motion encourages councils, likewise, to declare a homelessness emergency and also accelerate the issue to the top of their issues list.”
According to a council report, declaring a homelessness emergency means “council is seeking an exceptional and accelerated improvement to the system led by the state government to address homelessness”.
The decision followed a Department of Human Services (DHS) independent review of South Australia’s homelessness system earlier this month finding the system was failing.
The BetterStart Research independent review delivered to the state government found the current SA homeless support model – introduced by the former Marshall Liberal government in 2021 – had failed and that SA funding was well below the national average.
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SA homelessness funding has increased by around eight per cent since 2018, compared with a national average increase of 47 per cent over the same period, while the average cost per client has increased by approximately 20 per cent.
The increase in SA homelessness funding is the lowest of any state or territory, behind New South Wales at 13 per cent and lagging far behind the national leader – Queensland – at a 151 per cent increase.
Councillor Alfredo Cabada said the level of homelessness and people sleeping rough in the CBD was “sad”
“I’ve walked by so many homeless people in the last three to four years that I no longer wonder or question who is looking after them,” Cabada said.
“That is a sad reality that in a country like Australia we walk past someone on the street that is struggling and we just think it is the way of life now.
“The fact that we’ve had 200 to 240 people struggling for the last two or three years, and that is still that number, tells us that there is a lot more that we need to be doing as a state and as a council.”
Human Services Minister Katrine Hildyard told InDaily last week the state government was “really determined to advance reform” to build a better system focused on prevention for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Hildyard announced a major review was now underway, saying it was clear the old model was “introduced really quickly, and the evidence now shows that it was rushed”.
“We are really determined to advance reform that helps build a system that works for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness that focuses on prevention, and really supports the organisations who do brilliant work on supporting people through some of their most difficult times,” she said.
“This gives us the moment to absolutely focus on reform and to approach that reform with the sector, cross-government, with community and with those who have experience of homelessness.”
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