A median strip on a busy Melbourne peak-hour thoroughfare has been transformed into a mini tent city for National Homelessness Week, with a small group of protesters trying to draw attention to the housing and homelessness crisis.
In the middle of Saint Georges Road in the suburb of Preston, around half a dozen people have been sleeping in tents for the week-long action. Protesters Shannon and Justin sit on camp chairs and share their thoughts behind setting up the site.
"We just want to let people know that people are homeless and need help," Shannon says.
Shannon and Justin sitting at the camp. Image: Jarni Blakkarly
"Homelessness is swept under the rug quite a lot, a lot of homeless people do try and hide themselves, people feel like they aren't part of society. We are here, bringing it into the open, putting signs up so people see us and to know there are rough sleepers out there," he adds.
Neither Shannon nor Justin are homeless at the moment, but they have been in insecure housing for most of their lives and have slept rough in the past.
"I've hardly ever had a lease in my name, so you can just be turfed out at any point. I worry about what would happen if I ever had to look for another rental," Justin says.
Sign reads 'Homelessness its pretty in tents'. Image: Jarni Blakkarly
A largely invisible problem
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, at the last Census count in 2021 there were around 30,000 Victorians who were homeless. The majority of those were in temporary, insecure or unsafe housing, with those sleeping rough representing a minority of homeless people.
Sign reads '100,000 empty homes, 30,000 homeless'. Image: Jarni Blakkarly
Tanya Corrie, chair of the North Homelessness Network, says those sleeping rough are just the "tip of the iceberg".
"There are so many forms of homelessness that people don't see. So much unsuitable and unsafe accommodation. We are seeing an increase in homelessness across the region and homeless services are at a breaking point," she says.
One of the biggest trends, Corrie adds, is the increase in working people seeking housing crisis support services. The majority of those seeking help across the state are women, many with children.
"The need for services is greater than ever, yet as providers we are scrambling every year just to get the crumbs [of government funding] rather than being funded as an essential service," she says.
The majority of those seeking help across the state are women, many with children
Shannon and Justin say that along with government support for housing there needs to be a change of attitude in society towards homeless people.
"When you are sleeping rough you are on the down low, you don't want to be seen by people out there. There is shame attached to it, but there shouldn't be, it's not the homeless person's fault they are homeless, we have got a system that is failing us," Justin says.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
