Homelessness organisations from Melbourne’s north and west have been holding emergency talks today at the launch of a report by the North & West Homelessness Networks (NWHNs) that reveals that homelessness services are struggling to find suitable accommodation for people in crisis.

A Crisis in Crisis: The appalling state of emergency accommodation in Melbourne’s north and west reveals that the 423 official, government-funded crisis beds in Victoria are overflowing and there is no affordable housing for people when they exit homelessness services. 

The report makes for uneasy reading. Millions of dollars are being spent each year putting women and children into accommodation that is unsuitable and unsafe because agencies simply have no other alternatives. Fixing this problem will take a coordinated approach between state and federal governments. More funding is needed for better crisis accommodation in the short term, and an investment in more affordable housing in the long term.