The Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) says many homeless people are being refused shelter because support services are not properly funded to cope with demand.ACOSS deputy president Sue Ham says state and Federal Community Services ministers will consider funding for crisis accommodation and support services at a meeting this week.
She is calling on the ministers to take responsibility for the problem and agree to increase funding for those services by 25 per cent.
She says from 2002 to 2003, 67,000 requests from children, families and other people were not met.
"On any one night there's roughly 100,000 Australians that are homeless, over half of those are children that are escaping domestic violence, we know that situation hasn't changed very much over the last three years," she said.
"We know that there are not enough services out there for children and parents and individuals in need, so we're looking to get a significant increase in funding that will make a difference for crisis services."
By ACOSS posted 26 July 04
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