We have focused our attention on the United States homeless population.  Have you ever thought of what other countries are experiencing when it comes to homelessness? The Guardian recently posted an article discussing Australia’s homeless population. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently released that homelessness is up 14% in the past five years.  For every 10,000 people, 50 are homeless and more than 43,500 homeless people are under the age of 25. These are striking numbers when it comes to viewing the homeless population within a country. It is estimated that 116, 427 people are now thought to have no permanent home.  Australian chief executive, James Toomey recently spoke out about the issue.  He claimed this to be an ‘international embarrassment’.  He believes that this has been caused by a lack of serious political commitment and nationally to build more social housing and affordable homes.  The population that is facing homeless the most is the elderly.  Those between the ages 65 and 74 have been experiencing an increase in homeless by 27 people per 10,000 in 2016.  The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines homeless as, “if their current living arrangement is in a dwelling that is inadequate, has no tenure, and does not allow control of and access to space for social relations”.  Given what we have talked about in class in relation to the differing definitions of homelessness, what do you think of ABS definition? Is this a proper way to define the homeless population? Has your view of the United States homeless state change?

Citation: Knaus, Christopher, and Melissa Davey. “Homelessness in Australia up 14% in five years, ABS says.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 13 Mar. 2018, www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/14/homelessness-in-australia-up-14-in-five-years-abs-says.