Homelessness: A Health and Social Crisis

Homelessness is an issue across the world with countries of all economies having numbers of homeless people. Globally, in 2020 it was estimated that more than 1.6 billion people were homeless (McWilliams et al. 2022). Australian census data indicate an increase in homelessness in Australia, especially among women, with recent estimates reporting 44.1% of homeless people in Australia were women (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2018), Indigenous Australians comprise 20% of people who are homeless in Australia. International literature suggests that homeless populations are ageing, with more and more older people unable to find and afford suitable housing (Hargrave et al. 2022).