As evening sets in at Sydney’s Waterloo Green park, a bustling crowd converges, eager for free haircuts, eye exams, and dental check-ups.
The barbeque sizzles with sausages, drawing attendees to the Homelessness Week event affectionately known as Refresh, Recharge & Shine, a visitor tells SBS News, calling it “fantastic”.
“We need more initiatives like this for those in need,” Marie mentioned as she helped coordinate the event.
On August 3, NSW’s housing and homelessness minister, Rose Jackson, shared with SBS News her thoughts that while homelessness may be an uncomfortable topic, it is crucial to bring it to the forefront of national discussions.
“Understanding the demographics, location, age, and gender of those experiencing homelessness is essential data for the government,” she emphasized.
Jackson said data collected during the Census of Population and Housing on 11 August will be “crucial” for allocating resources and services to people experiencing homelessness.
But collecting this information can present logistical challenges.
“I think the ABS [Australian Bureau of Statistics] has done a really good job lifting its level of engagement. I think maybe in the past it wasn’t something that was recognised as a priority,” Jackson said.
“The Census was built around [dropping] a form into people’s letterbox — and for people that don’t have letterboxes, where do you start?”
How to complete the Census if you’re experiencing housing insecurity
Sharon Callister, CEO of Mission Australia, has been working alongside Census field officers to help people experiencing housing insecurity complete the Census.
“There are rough sleepers in Sydney, and many of them are in known rough sleeping spots. Our support services staff go out there. There are also field offices coming from the Census office,” she told SBS News.
She said people in temporary dwellings like boarding houses or hostels can access paper Census forms from accommodation staff.
Callister said it can be difficult to capture “hidden homeless” populations. That includes people sleeping in a car or tent, or couch surfing with friends, family or acquaintances without a secure lease.
“We’re at a critical point in Australia. The last Census, there were [more than] 122,000 people homeless. We know from our services today that that number is going to be higher this year.”
If someone is experiencing homelessness, the ABS advises people to write “NONE” in response to the question about where they usually live. Online, this question can be answered by selecting the “Elsewhere in Australia” option, then manually entering “NONE” in the suburb and locality boxes.
If a housing or homelessness service has organised and paid for a person to stay in temporary accommodation, they should write “NONE-CRISIS” for this question.
ABS spokesperson Hasan Hawatmeh told SBS Arabic that the ABS has a dedicated homelessness strategy team to support Census engagement.
“We do have a Homelessness Enumeration Week, so field staff will be deployed to do the actual enumeration. They do have access to a short form, which is a one-page [Census form] just to make sure we don’t add any other complexities to the homeless population.”
Yolanda Saiz, CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW, said people experiencing housing insecurity can visit the organisation’s services for assistance in completing the Census.
“We can help them with computers, with access, with reading and writing if they need that help as well. So, we can facilitate their voice being captured in the Census.”
The ABS is also offering in-person support at pop-up hubs and events across Australia.
Challenges in counting homelessness
In 2021, the ABS estimated that more than 122,000 people in Australia experienced homelessness at the time of the Census.
Males accounted for 55.9 per cent of this cohort, while females accounted for 44.1 per cent. Around 23 per cent of all people experiencing homelessness were aged between 12 and 24 years.
The ABS acknowledged this data may have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions.
Heidi Tucker is the CEO of Anchor, which supports people experiencing, or are at risk of homelessness. She said the Census provides “precious evidence”, but believes it can be challenging to capture accurate data on homelessness, particularly in vast urban areas or in regional and rural Australia.
For regions like the Yarra Ranges in Victoria, this means locating people across more than 2,400 square kilometres, much of which is bushland.
“Not everyone who is experiencing homelessness is known to a service. We’re worried that there will be people who are missed.
“We know that young people in particular can be couch surfing or living in scenarios associated with homelessness.”