Homeless aid will pay off

GETTING the most vulnerable homeless people into housing would save society at least $250 million a year, says a new report.

Consultant giant PwC Australia said that homelessness was a “wicked” problem that was often seen as too big to fix.

“Solving homelessness will be complex and expensive, involving a plethora of government and non-government stakeholders and strategies, but it need not be as expensive for governments as we may first envisage,” said the report Rethinking the Costs of Homelessness.

Authors Jeremy Thorpe and Guillaume Babille said that the nation’s estimated 116,000 homeless people had a range of experiences, with only 7 per cent rough sleepers.

Most were coach surfing, living in overcrowded and transitional dwellings and experiencing short-term homelessness.

“Based on our analysis, governments could save $250 million annually in health, justice and welfare services if the most vulnerable homeless people — that is, 55 per cent of the homeless population — could be moved to accommodation of a social housing standard,” the report said.

This comprised a saving of $2384 per person for 51 per cent of the most vulnerable, and an $11,801 saving for the 4 per cent most disadvantaged.

“Improving, even marginally, the housing outcomes for the 4 per cent of homeless people who are the worst affected ... would be worth $51 million to governments annually in health, justice and welfare savings,” the authors said.

“This is because the provision of safe, secure and affordable housing has significant potential benefits because it reduces the use of government services and improves an individual’s outcomes, and these two outcomes mutually reinforce each other going forward.”

The report said that state governments would benefit from more than three-quarters of the savings, with the rest enjoyed by the federal government.

Salvation Army Project 614 director Maj Brendan Nottle welcomed the report, but said that providing housing for the homeless must not simply be driven by an economic outcome but because it’s the right thing to do.

Maj Nottle, whose team hosts at least 150 homeless a night at its Melbourne cafe, said addressing the drivers of homelessness, and providing support services was crucial.