Around 100 people walked through the streets of Launceston on Wednesday to demand action on a housing crisis that now touches one in every 91 Tasmanians – a rate worse than the national average.
The Homelessness Week walk, organised by the St Vincent de Paul Society alongside City Mission, The Salvation Army and Shelter Tasmania, began at the City Park Rotunda and ended at Royal Park.
St Vincent de Paul Society Northern Regional President Rosie Caelli said demand for the organisation’s services is surging.
“In the past 12-months, the Society has helped 17,315 individuals with our Emergency Relief service and provided food and assisted 26,724 individuals through our Van services,” she said.
“Concerningly, 12% of the 8,033 requests for assistance during the year came from people new to the Society, which is an average of 78 new clients per month.”
More than 5,500 Tasmanians are on the waiting list for public housing, Caelli said and the number continues to grow.
“We are seeing an increase in people sleeping rough, particularly in the north and north west this winter,” she said.
Data from Shelter Tasmania showed 22% of people experiencing homelessness are aged between 12 and 24, while a further 14% are under 12.
Mark Gaetani, the Tasmanian-based national president of the St Vincent de Paul Society, used the event to call for more government action.
“Our experience and research reveals that too many people are just one life event away from housing stress – losing a job, falling ill, ending a relationship or experiencing family and domestic violence,” he said.
“This National Homelessness Week, we are asking the Government to match its rhetoric with resources.”
