THE HOMELESS CRISIS

Australia

The Australian Human Rights Commission stated Human Rights are greatly impacted by sleeping on the streets:

• the right to health
• the right to personal safety
• the right to privacy
• the right to non-discrimination
• the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment

The facts:

• Up to 21% of Australia’s street sleeping homeless have suffered hypothermia, frostbite or trenchfoot.
• Tonight up to 80% of families and 60% of individuals will be turned away from emergency shelters.

UK

• 2,181 people were recorded as sleeping rough on any one night in England (an increase of 5%)
• Street sleeping homeless are 13 times more likely to have experienced violence and 47 times more likely to be victims of theft.
• Street sleeping homeless have an average life expectancy of 42 years compared to national average 74 for men and 79 for women
• Street sleeping homeless are 35 times more likely to commit suicide than the general population.

New Zealand

• No official government figures for the number of homeless people exists
• 81 people were found sleeping on the streets in a 3km radius of the Auckland sky tower.

Germany

• No official government figures for the number of homeless people exists
• It is estimated the number of homeless people in Germany at over 250,000 – with 20,000 people living on the street