Australian bishops shine light on plight of homeless

The 2025 Social Justice Statement from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) focused on the nation’s marginalised homeless population. The statement, launched on August 13, looks at the intersection of housing insecurity and the experiences of individuals. 

In the statement’s foreword, ACBC president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB urged Christians to be more mindful and compassionate towards Australia’s growing homeless population. He said Australia’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 urged Christians to turn towards those on the margins, listen to their stories and offer friendship.  

The statement included 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 that more than 273,000 people were helped by homelessness services nationwide in Australia from 2022 to 2023. 

Of these, one-third had a mental health issue and 25 per cent were single parents. 

FULL STORY

Australian bishops release 2025-26 social justice statement (by Tara Kennedy/The Catholic Weekly)

Signs of Hope on the Edge: Social Justice Statement 2025-2026 (ACBC)