The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) has launched its 2025 Social Justice Statement, which focuses on the marginalised homeless population of Australia.
The 24-page document titled Signs of Hope on the Edge: Serving People Living in Homelessness and Mental Ill-Health, takes a look at the intersection of housing insecurity and individual’s experiences.
At the launch held in Canberra on 13 August, Bishops Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service Chair Bishop Tim Harris said the statement touched him deeply and reminded him of his cathedral in Townsville, which has a statue depicting Jesus as homeless.
“[It] is a very powerful reminder that the homeless are welcome and that our community cannot ignore their plight,” he said.
ACBC President Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, in the statement’s foreword, urged Christians to be more mindful and compassionate towards Australia’s growing homeless population.
He said the nation’s cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating the pressures on people, especially as rents and mortgages have risen dramatically, and that more are being “pushed to the edge.”
“Many have struggled to cope under the pressure; and one of the worrying results of this crisis is an increasing number of Australians finding themselves relying on friends or family giving them a roof over their head or, even worse, sleeping on the streets,” he said.
“Homelessness services are not able to offer help to everyone who is in this predicament.”
Archbishop Costelloe said there is added pressure on those also suffering with poor mental health, whose needs are not being met due to under-resourced mental health services.
“This year’s social justice statement, Signs of Hope on the Edge: Serving People Living in Homelessness and Mental Ill-Health, provides a picture of what life is like for people living in homelessness and mental ill-health and the difficulty in providing adequate support for them,” he said.
He urges Christians to turn towards those on the margins, listen to their stories, and offer friendship.
“Instead of walking by and not noticing the plight of our neighbours, pay attention to them and their plight, listen to their stories, and serve them with the love we learn from Jesus,” he said.
The statement contains testimonials from four people who found themselves homeless and suffering from poor mental health for a variety of reasons, including disability, substance abuse, and losing loved ones.
Signs of Hope on the Edge also contains facts and statistics about homelessness, pointing out over 273,000 people were helped by homelessness services nationwide from 2022-2023.
Of these, one third had a mental health issue and 25 per cent were single parents.
Almost 40 per cent of people who have spent a night on the streets have mental health issues, an occurrence much higher than the general population.
Forty thousand young people required help from homelessness services, with nearly half of those turned away due to a lack of space, with the most impacted being teenagers aged 12 to 15 years old, the report said.
Melbourne City Mission statistics say young people are turning to dangerous means to cope with their situation, with half of those seeking their support reporting self-harm, suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide.
Also attending the launch were Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Archbishop Christopher Prowse, Office for Justice, Ecology, and Peace Director Peter Arndt, St Vincent de Paul National Director Rose Beynon, and Labor MP Josh Burns.
ACBC has released a social justice statement each year since 1940, often timed with Social Justice Sunday, with the two most recent being about bringing peace to a troubled world, and renewing the relationship with Australia’s First Nations peoples.
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