AS THE federal election approaches this year, there will be a lot of talk about battlers doing it tough.
Both sides of politics will debate who is better at lowering the cost of living, while the number of people living without a roof over their head continues to rise, particularly in Logan.
Estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed homelessness increased 4.6 per cent in the five years leading up to 2016.
The data showed that 1205 people were considered to be homeless in the Logan City Council area, almost double the 679 people sleeping rough in Ipswich.
Sheltered By Grace chairman Jason Loakes has seen this first-hand during his time with the organisation’s shelter for the homeless and recalls receiving four times as many requests for help in the lead-up to Christmas as in previous years.
With only scarce resources at the shelter’s disposal, there is no choice but to turn away a long list of desperate people.
Goodwill from community organisations including Lives Lived Well, Salvation Army, Vinnies and Sheltered by Grace go some way toward tackling the problem, but more needs to be done.
Newstart allowance funding has been frozen in real terms for 25 years. How a single parent with children is expected to get by, affording rent and food, on an allowance of $529 a fortnight, let alone presentable clothes for a job interview, is a mystery.
Yet, even calls for modest increases are shouted down by the anti-dole bludger brigade.
There are many reasons for homelessness, including domestic violence, family breakdown and mental illness to name a few.
Homelessness is a complicated issue and should be treated as such.
It is time for the incumbent Liberal-National government and Labor opposition to put their money where their mouth is and support the truly forgotten people.
