ABOUT 1000 children in Melbourne’s West face life without a home and a warm bed each year according to a report by Melbourne Citymission.
Children were identified as the new face of the housing affordability crisis in a report released during a family homelessness and housing affordability forum in Sunshine last week.
It said disadvantaged children and their families were living in cars and garden sheds after being squeezed out of their homes as a result of rising property prices and a shortage of affordable housing.
About a quarter of the children who experienced homelessness during the report period in 2004 and 2005 were from in and around Melbourne Citymission’s main office in Footscray.
Melbourne Citymission CEO Anne Turley said state and federal governments must address family homelessness as a matter of urgency.
“Currently, the way that support services are structured and funded means that state and federal governments and community agencies like Melbourne Citymission are just tinkering around the edges,” she said.
Ms Turley said the report, Putting Children First – Improving Responses to Family Homelessness, identified a need for a more integrated and intentional approach to help families experiencing homelessness.
Melbourne Citymission adult and family services general manager David Marnie said the report was a response to employees’ concerns about the large number of children they were assisting each year.
“We were certainly surprised at the extent of children in families who are experiencing homelessness in the western region. In the past two years and particularly this year we have found the increase in housing and rental prices have really affected the families we work with,” he said.
Mr Marnie said the report provided evidence and identified the need to break the cycle and assist children and their families into better lives.
“Part of what we do is not just providing services, but arguing for a better world and a more inclusive community,” he said.
The report found families in the West were waiting on average 13 months for long-term housing after seeking assistance from Melbourne Citymission, with about a quarter of these families already living in unsafe and insecure housing for six months before seeking help.
Mr Marnie said that while homelessness was complex and required a comprehensive solution, the human cost of the problem was easy to see.
“The family cost on children is huge – what we have learned is that early intervention and prevention is so much more effective than any solution,” he said.
Mr Marine said it was frustrating to break up social networks created by families by having to offer accommodation up to an hour away from the region the families had been living in.
“We know how important it is to have stability in a child’s life in their schooling and in their community,” he said.
The report identified that stress and dislocation had a devastating impact on the emotional and physical development of infants and affected older children’s ability to develop social networks and concentrate at school.
Mr Marnie said that while the report identified Melbourne Citymission’s concerns, it was not all doom and gloom, as there were also some practical, inexpensive proposals to address the issue.
“Hopefully there will be a feeling of hope that there are solutions and it’s not all just desperate stuff,” he said.
The report called for changes in funding and an increase in public housing stock and private investment.
Mr Marnie said the proposed development of the former Barkly Hotel in Footscray, which will include a mix of affordable housing and medium to higher-end housing, was a positive example of using public and private partnerships to find solutions to the housing affordability shortage.
“That is very much part of the solution we are calling for,” he said.
“The Barkly Hotel is a great example and a good policy decision, we need to see more of those type of policy decisions.”
