The Truth about Homelessness in Midland
Indigo Junction has released its Evaluation Report on the Midland Connections Week data collected earlier this year which helps build a profile of the picture of homelessness in Midland by exploring the themes of health, justice, risk and vulnerability.
Midland Connections Week, an offset of Registry Week, was undertaken in May by Indigo Junction in partnership with the City of Swan as part of an initiative designed to identify some of the most vulnerable people in the community and connect them to support.
The report gathered information on 149 people experiencing homelessness in Midland including 52 children. It was identified that families make up 27% of Midland’s homeless compared to just 2% in Perth and 7% in Fremantle, and of the families identified in Midland 92% are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Ms Stewart, CEO at Indigo Junction said “This data together with Indigo Junction’s unassisted figures recognises a response for families which we now consider at crisis point.”
Ms Stewart added, “Each month staff in our family service are turning away over 400 families due to lack of housing, our youth service are turning away between 40 – 70 young people, and our community service, Karnany Resource Centre, sees over 300 people in crisis who are seeking support”.
The report highlights the need for an increase in place-based services which respond to the local community.
Ms Stewart continues, “There isn’t enough services to meet the demand in Midland, nor is there enough affordable housing in the area.”
The report identified that the people interviewed had been homeless on average for 5.9 years and the average participant age was 39 years. The oldest person surveyed was 64 years old and has been homeless for 10 years.
There have been Registry Weeks conducted across Australia and internationally, including Perth (2012, 2014, and 2016), Fremantle (2016), Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart.
Indigo Junction’s Midland Connections Week Evaluation Report can be found on Indigo Junction’s website at the following link, https://indigojunction.org.au/reports-publications/.
