More than 60 Victorian municipalities have seen big jumps in their homeless populations.
The Council to Homeless Persons has found the number of working Victorians reaching out for help has increased in Melbourne’s outer suburbs and regional centres including Geelong.
Greater Geelong and Wyndham City were among the top five areas experiencing the biggest increased in workers seeking homelessness support.
More than 530 people in Geelong reached out in the last financial year, with 72 per cent of those being women.
In Wyndham, 66 per cent of the 624 people asking for support were women.
Council CEO Deborah Di Natale said the alarming rise in employed people seeking support was a frightening new front in the state’s housing crisis.
“Not even a job is enough to guarantee a roof over people’s heads,” she said.
“Working women are the face of this crisis.
“Employed women escaping family violence are often faced with the impossible choice between shelter and abuse.
“With just $5.6 million in next month’s budget, the government could relieve enormous pressure on renters, and reduce welfare, justice and health costs that more homelessness leads to.”
