Our research

In 2008 Wesley Mission looked at the plight of single homeless people. In our latest research we’ve turned the spotlight on a much larger and less publicised problem – family homelessness. Wesley Mission spoke to homeless families to discover how they became homeless and how they were coping with their devastating experience. They might not be sleeping in parks or doorways, but families are in fact the true face of homelessness in Australia. Their desperate situation – and especially that of the children – demands urgent, long-term responses at all levels.

Download the media release (32.2 KB PDF)

Key findings

Families are the new face of homelessness
Homeless children risk becoming homeless adults
Most homeless families are young
Newly homeless families don’t know where to seek help
Mental illness is rife among homeless families
Inconsistencies in the welfare system exacerbate their problems
Long-term support is critical for positive outcomes

Download the Executive Summary (555 KB PDF)
Download the full Wesley Report (5 MB PDF)
See previous Wesley Reports

Implications for policy

Wesley Mission’s latest research report, More than a bed: Sydney’s homeless families speak out, makes a number of recommendations for addressing the problem of family homelessness. These centre on providing more and different varieties of public housing; finding ways to make private rental accommodation more affordable; situating public housing closer to areas where homeless families have their support networks; educating media about family homelessness; making our welfare systems more flexible and easier to negotiate; and adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to family homelessness that addresses its complex causes and urgent needs.