Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, August 2012
The Minister for Housing and Homelessness, the Hon Brendan O’Connor MP, has released the Journey’s Home Wave 1 report. The report, provided by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, is based on a survey of 1,682 income support recipients across Australia. Some of the key findings from the Wave 1 Report are as follows:
- Ninety per cent of participants had been homeless at some stage in their lives, and 51 per cent of participants had been homeless in the past six months.
- The most common reason for first becoming homeless was family breakdown and/or conflict.
- Only seven per cent reported mental illness and ten per cent substance abuse as major factors leading to their first homeless experience.
- Seventy-one per cent of those homeless for a total of four years or more in their lifetime had been diagnosed with at least one of the five mental illnesses listed in the survey.
- Half the participants first experienced homelessness while aged under 18 years and just under three quarters before they turned 25.
- People who first experience homelessness at a young age are more likely to experience persistent homelessness.
- A third of those who first experienced homelessness under the age of 15 spent a total of four years or more homelessness during their lifetimes.
Below are links to the full report.
Full Report: PDF 815 KB DOCX 765 KB