Homelessness Week 2024
The experience of homelessness is not just about the absence of a roof over your head.
Homelessness is often an isolating phenomena. It typically means being displaced from the security of being rooted within community and all of the benefits this can bring.
Homelessness can be the result of having not enough income to pay the rent.
Homelessness Australia’s most recent research cited that 52% of those who presented to homeless services attributed lack of income as the priority cause of their situation. This can be a consequence of the supply and demand chain, being responsible for pushing up rent prices. It can simply be the result of someone losing their employment.
A further 33% of people suggested that family violence or relationship breakdown and consequently being disconnected from trusting relationships was the cause of their homelessness. In fact sadly the fastest growing demographic of people experiencing homelessness is mature aged single women.
The problem of homelessness can be crushing to the soul. Its isolating and traumatic consequence can thrust people into unhealthy coping mechanisms and impact mental health wellbeing.
It can sadly become a multigenerational problem for families. Last year nearly 96,000 children were seeking support from homelessness services in Australia.
When I was employed in the homelessness sector, the data was informing us that 70% of people who received homeless support were cycling back around to the front door of services in crisis once again within three years. This in part was attributed to the lack of local community support to mitigate the escalation and re-emergence of problems.
So how can the church step in to this space?
Well, this is where programs such as COACH Community Mentoring and Empowered Faith Communities with their foundational mentoring and support element can step in. While on a macro level, we may not be able to solve the structural causes of homelessness, we can provide a preventative point of difference in some circumstances at the local level.
When problems do arise, responding early is important. Being connected into healthy relationships within community can provide a meaningful and timely safety net for early intervention. Mentors and Spiritual Parents can be on hand to support people in circumventing their problems with the potential of offsetting the loss of housing and the disruption to lives.
Indeed, the bible talks of getting our hands dirty in this space with an action oriented personal focus – take a look at the book if Isaiah chapter one verse 17 for example:
“Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow”.
This verse uses practical, action orientated verbs and phrases, “learn to do”, “rescue”, “defend” and “plead for”.
To my mind, this verse prompts the question:
What is our response?
We can provide money to fund the support those experiencing homelessness and that is a good thing to do and please keep doing that if you already are.
Yet can we consider making poverty more personal?
Can we be an action focused community as Mentors and Spiritual Parents in this micro, more personal space, for the benefit of a struggling individual or family to in fact counteract the homeless cycle and avoid its intergenerational damage?
God bless you
Mark Matthews
COACH community Mentoring Co-Author
Empowered Faith Communities Co-Founder