Kristin O'Connell: How to end homelessness

Homeless people are dying more than 30 years earlier than the general population, a new Guardian Australia report revealed. It found homeless people are dying at an average age of 44, compared to 77-years-old for the general population. 

The Guardian reported that many of these deaths were “directly connected to the trauma and desperation of homelessness, and compounded by the vast waits for emergency and public housing”. 

Meanwhile, the waiting lists for public and social housing continue to grow, with almost 60,000 people on the waiting list in New South Wales alone in October last year. 

Successive state governments have greenlit plans to demolish public housing sites. The Victorian Labor government is pushing ahead with its plan to demolish 44-high rise public housing estates, despite a big pushback from tenants and housing experts.

Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Kristin O’Connell spoke to Green Left’s Isaac Nellist about the desperate need for investment in public housing and other solutions to counter worsening poverty. 

We acknowledge that this was produced on stolen Aboriginal land. We express solidarity with ongoing struggles for justice for First Nations people and pay our respects to Elders past and present.

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