Homeless head count in the hundreds

BY EMMA KEMP

Council’s first head count of homeless people in inner Sydney has produced some alarming results.

The street count tallied 333 people sleeping rough in public parks and footpaths, in areas around buildings, car parks and other sheltered spots between the hours of 1am and 3am on August 19.

A further 21 people were staying in free overnight shelters on the night of the count.

The count covered approximately two thirds of the City of Sydney.

City Council and the State Government jointly fund an outreach service and a Homeless Persons Information Service as part of a plan to tackle the harrowing cycles of homelessness.

Underpinning the count is new research from the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) which estimates more than 100,000 people are homeless every night – with a third of them under the age of 25.

Almost 50 per cent of homeless people in Australia are dependent on alcohol and drugs, according to the ANCD.

The City of Sydney says it has committed to conducting biannual street counts of rough sleepers in the CBD under the Homelessness Strategy 2007-12.