October 10th is World Homeless Day.
World Homeless Day emerged in 2011 from discussions between groups working to help homelessness from various parts of the world. This day is observed on every continent except Antarctica.
There are currently a staggering 150 million people homeless and a whopping 1.6 billion living in inadequate shelters worldwide. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, from the 2016 census, 444 of these homeless people are in the Tweed Shire. This number has definitely increased since then, with a lot more due to the COVID pandemic and also the floods in February this year.
Homelessness is not limited to rough sleepers sleeping in the streets. Anyone who doesn’t have a home, is considered homeless. This can be anybody couch surfing, sleeping in hostels, or overcrowded dwellings.
There are many causes why someone may become homeless such as, lack of affordable housing, poverty, loss of employment, health reasons including mental health issues and/or substance abuse, family breakdowns and violence, and limited housing/rental crisis.
Homelessness is not inevitable but sadly it is true for many going through traumatic experiences. Gifting someone money on the street is helpful in the moment, and provides temporary relief, but a donation to an organisation means your money goes further into supporting the most vulnerable people in our community.