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A move to learn the names and stories of the homeless is driving a bid to cut Adelaide's rough sleeper numbers to effectively nothing.

“There’s no doubt that homelessness is a complex and multilayered issue, impacted by many factors. But despite common misconceptions, the scale of homelessness is both preventable and solvable; it’s all about priorities.

Take Australia’s response to the pandemic, for example. In the first eight weeks of the Covid-19 crisis, organisations connected to the AAEH have supported more than 5000 people sleeping rough – or at immediate risk of sleeping rough – into temporary shelter. This sort of response shows that we’re able to make immediate change, if we need to. The issue is ensuring we hold onto the change for the long term.” Pearson says.

Homelessness has been an issue for so long many see it as a normal feature of everyday life - intractable, inevitable, unfixable. But despite the common misconception, the scale of veteran's homelessness in Australia is both preventable and solvable.

COVID-19 has made visible the extent of couch surfing and rough sleeping in Australia, and brought about an increase in homelessness as more people are faced with unemployment and the loss of income. We need to commit to giving our most vulnerable a home, writes Karyn Walsh, CEO Micah Projects and AAEH Chair.

On any given night, approximately 8,200 people are sleeping rough in Australia – during the COVID-19 response, an estimated 7,000 people have been temporarily sheltered.

Ahead of Homelessness Week, the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness is calling on the Federal Government for an urgent comprehensive and nationally coordinated Rough Sleeping Homelessness Pandemic Response Plan - or put more simply a HomeSeeker package - to end rough sleeping homelessness in Australia for good.

The homelessness sector has united to discuss the impacts, efforts and positive outcomes over the past 20 weeks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and called on a ‘HomeSeeker Package’ to end rough sleeping homelessness in Australia for good.

On Wednesday 22 July 2020 the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness sent an Open Letter to the Prime Minister with an unprecedented call for action from Australian governments on COVID-19 and rough sleeping homelessness. Read the letter here.

A broad cross section of organisations across Australia have called on the Commonwealth, state and territory governments to take urgent action to ensure the people who were sleeping rough are not forced back out onto the street after being sheltered from COVID-19.

The Australian Alliance to End Homelessness (AAEH) has launched a sector wide lobbying campaign, Homes Beyond Covid, to raise awareness of the urgent needs of people who have now been temporarily sheltered in response to COVID-19.

"... Australia should be aiming for “functional zero” rough sleeping, where public housing becomes available at the same rate people enter homelessness.

It costs us more in health costs, in policing costs, in emergency accommodation costs to continue to leave them sleeping rough than it does to provide them permanent supportive housing, and it’s just nuts that we don’t do it,” David Pearson, CEO, Australian Alliance to End Homelessness.