By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
GEELONG community services have experienced a 94 per cent increase in tenants at risk of homelessness because of rental arrears, a new report reveals.
The Justice Connect report identified strong links between homelessness, financial hardship, family violence and legal issues in Geelong.
The report said falling into homelessness from private rental was common.
“Seventy per cent of consumers who were experiencing homelessness had become homeless from private rental,” the report said.
“Where consumers owned a vehicle, they had spent at least a few nights and sometimes months, living in their vehicles due to a lack of alternative accommodation.
“Clients presenting at homelessness services in Geelong have predominantly been living in private rental premises.”
Juctice Connect principal lawyer Lucy Adams said the report was based on consultations with 40 workers from specialist homelessness and community services and 10 homeless people.
“The findings won’t come as a surprise to people working on the ground in Geelong,” Ms Adams said.
“The report highlights an acute shortage of affordable housing in Geelong, and points to family violence, family breakdown and financial hardship as key triggers of local homelessness.”
Ms Adams said some services reported a 50 per cent increase in family violence referrals in recent years.
Ninety-four per cent of services staff had assisted clients whose tenancies were at risk because of rental arrears, she said.
“The consultation showed that the lines between housing issues and legal issues are blurred, with financial hardship and family violence often causing both housing failure and legal problems.”
Ms Adams said 80 per cent of consumers identified at least one legal issue since becoming homeless and three quarters of them had multiple legal issues.
But accessing legal services was often difficult because of capacity restraints and a lack of clarity about which services to approach about different legal issues.
Ms Adams said representatives of legal, community, local government, university and corporate sectors met at a recent forum to improve collaboration between legal and non-legal services.
“Early access to legal assistance can often prevent evictions into homelessness,” Ms Adams said.
“Often it is a one-off crisis causing people to fall behind in rent but with early intervention they can get back on track.
“We’re hoping that a better understanding of homelessness will lead to businesses and organisations involved developing better ways of dealing with it when they do come across it.”
