Housing issues, stagnated wage growth and the high cost of utility bills is pushing more people in Ballarat toward financial crisis, Uniting Ballarat’s crisis entry point data reveals.
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In the 2017-2018 financial year, Uniting provided more than $230,000 of crisis and emergency relief for 1,677 families and individuals in Ballarat needing urgent food and housing support.
Data shows residents in Ballarat required the second largest amount of support when compared to other regional areas in Victoria.
Uniting Ballarat acting executive officer Wendy Ferguson said the number of residents in crisis will continue to grow unless there was significant investment in public housing and the rate of income support payments like Newstart was raised.
Of Uniting Ballarat’s clients in the 2017-2018 financial year, only 3.8 per cent had access to public housing.
There are lots of things the clients need, but the bottom line is we need those additional units of appropriate, affordable, safe, secure housing.
- Wendy Ferguson, Uniting Ballarat
“Housing is becoming an extremely difficult situation. There has been no real growth in public housing for a very long time,” Ms Ferguson said.
“The Labor government has promised growth in public housing. We very much welcome that – it is desperately needed and it can’t come soon enough – but it still probably won’t meet the need.”
More than 100 households are currently on the priority list for housing at Uniting Ballarat.
Ms Ferguson said staff were seeing the impact of the lack of availability of private rentals in Ballarat.
Rental vacancies in Ballarat are at a record low, falling to 0.8 per cent in October.
“People on the priority housing list are needing somewhere to live and may be in insecure housing, couch-surfing, staying with friends or family, staying in temporary accommodation like a in a hotel or motel, a caravan or shed until they can be housed,” Ms Ferguson said.
“There are lots of things the clients need, but the bottom line is we need those additional units of appropriate, affordable, safe, secure housing.”
Uniting Ballarat data reveals the main sources of income for clients in the 2017-2018 financial year were Newstart, 34.4 per cent, the disability support pension, 24.4 per cent, and parenting support, 15 per cent.
It also shows 37 per cent of Uniting Ballarat clients had been diagnosed with a mental health condition by a health professional and more females requested support than males.
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Rochelle Kirkham
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
