Tonight, Havelock House, Canberra’s oldest and largest frontline community housing provider, will hold the ACT’s first memorial vigil to remember those who have died while homeless and to stand in solidarity with those who are still sleeping rough. It opens Homelessness Week, which runs until Sunday. 

“The vigil was inspired by the simple belief that every person deserves to be remembered,” Havelock House CEO Kylie Maidens said. “Too many people experiencing homelessness die alone, without family present or public acknowledgement.

“This vigil is about restoring dignity, honouring their lives, and reminding our community that homelessness should never make someone invisible… It’s a time to remember that every person who experiences homelessness had a future they imagined, hopes they held onto, dreams they wanted to achieve, and a life before they found themselves without a home.”

The vigil will be held at Havelock House, 85 Northbourne Avenue, Turner, at 5:30pm for a 6pm start. Park in the main car park on McKay Street and surrounding streets. The event will take place at the front of Havelock House. Light refreshments will be served following the vigil. All are welcome. For more information, visit havelockhousing.com.au/memorial-vigil-3-august-2026

Many homeless people in the ACT are employed

Homelessness is not just sleeping on the streets. In Canberra, it can also mean couch surfing, sleeping in a car, living in overcrowded or unsafe housing, or remaining in a violent household because there is nowhere affordable to go.

“You don’t always know people are homeless,” Ms Dobson said. “You can make assumptions about people that are really misplaced.

“It can affect people from a range of backgrounds. There are older people who might have worked as professionals all their lives, and suddenly find themselves homeless – a situation they never thought they’d be in.”

One in five people in the ACT seeking help from specialist homelessness services is employed – the highest rate of any state or territory.

60 per cent of clients report housing affordability stress. Private rents remain beyond the reach of many low-income Canberrans, while Anglicare’s Rental Affordability Snapshot this year showed that someone on income support cannot afford to rent here.

The proportion of public housing has declined since self-government from 12 per cent of all housing to only 5.7 per cent, Ms Dobson said, and in actual terms there are fewer properties now than there were 30 years ago. As of 30 June, some 3,652 people were on the ACT Government’s housing waiting list.

“The market is a great way to house a lot of people, but it’s never been a good way to house everybody,” Dr Devin Bowles, CEO of ACTCOSS, said. “The cost-of-living crisis has also driven homelessness and the experience of poverty more generally.”

“Homelessness does not define a person – it is something that has happened to them,” Ms Maidens said.

We don’t know how many homeless people die in the ACT

Homeless people die decades younger than the rest of the population, often from preventable causes.

“In the middle of a Canberra winter … spending the night outside is cold, unpleasant, and often unsafe,” Dr Bowles said. “That means they are likely to experience more acute costs in our medical system.” 

The exact number of people who die while homeless is unknown; Australia does not collect the data either at a state or a territory level.

“The real tragedy is that people who are homeless sometimes die without anyone marking their passing,” Corinne Dobson, CEO of ACT Shelter, said.

“My view is one person is too many,” Ms Maidens said. “It’s not about the number; it’s about a death that could have been prevented.”

‘They stood in front of a tram’

Content warning: The following section contains discussion of self-harm.

Desperation can drive people to make unimaginable decisions, Ms Maidens said. 

“We had someone come into our office seeking accommodation at Havelock. Unfortunately, we don’t provide crisis or emergency accommodation. They had only just been discharged from hospital and were still wearing their medical wristband. They were distressed, anxious and clearly desperate.

“After explaining that we couldn’t offer them a bed, we provided information about other services that might be able to help.

“They left our office, walked across the road and stood in front of a tram. 

“Thankfully, they survived with only minor injuries, but their desperation for somewhere safe to sleep, warmth and food led them to harm themselves in the hope of returning to hospital.

“That moment affected everyone involved — the emergency service workers, the passengers on the tram, and our staff, who had the heartbreaking task of turning someone away because we simply didn’t have the resources to help.”

Advocates call for action now

Canberra’s housing advocates warn that the ACT is still responding to homelessness after people reach crisis, rather than doing enough to prevent it.

More than half of people seeking assistance were already homeless. Conversely, 87 per cent of people who approached services while still only at risk of homelessness were helped to remain housed.

“When people reach out for assistance while they’re still at risk of homelessness, they are much more likely to have a better outcome and sustain their tenancy when they get the support,” Ms Dobson said. “Unfortunately, the system seems to be much more oriented towards crisis rather than early intervention and prevention.”

The ACT has the highest rate of persistent homelessness in Australia. 38 per cent of all people who sought help from specialist homelessness services in 2024-25 experienced persistent chronic homelessness, rising to 40 per cent among Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander clients. More than half of those experiencing persistent homelessness had a mental health issue, while around half (52 per cent) were children and young people.

The ACT is serving fewer people far longer, and less successfully, Ms Dobson said data shows. The number of people using ACT specialist homelessness services has fallen by a quarter since 2011-12 (from 5,602 to 4,194), even as the national client base grew 22 per cent. 

People using ACT homelessness services now receive support for a median 117 days, more than twice the national figure.

The housing shortage is creating bottlenecks with homelessness services. Crisis and transitional accommodation is intended to provide temporary support until people can move into stable housing, but many remain stuck there, reducing services’ capacity to help new clients.

“The crisis and transitional housing system is really buckling under strain in the ACT,” Ms Dobson said.

Both ACTCOSS and ACT Shelter want the government to provide more public housing.

“When we recognise that the private market has probably never been suitable to house everybody, as a community, we need to make the choice to ask the government to fill that gap,” Dr Bowles said. “When a higher proportion of housing has been public housing, that gap has been better filled.”

Dr Bowles also called for the government to review ACT support programs, including the targeted assistance strategy, to ensure they reflected current economic conditions. He also called for stronger funding for community organisations providing early intervention, as rising demand and increasingly complex needs mean clients often needed help with insecure housing, energy costs and mental ill-health.

“When rents are so high, and if people aren’t able to get into public housing, we need to ensure that people have access to some form of housing and some sort of support where they can maintain some foothold in that housing market and not just simply fall into homelessness,” Ms Dobson said.

“Homelessness is rarely the result of a single event,” Ms Maidens said. “It represents a breakdown of systems where people have been let down long before they reach crisis point. We need greater investment in prevention and early intervention. We need to provide support before people become homeless, not just respond after they’ve already fallen through the cracks.”

This article refers to self-harm. To get help 24/7, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, phone 000 for emergency services.