The need for more affordable housing has been highlighted by the theme of this years' National Homeless Week, 'housing ends homelessness'.
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Launched in Hobart on Monday, National Homelessness Week raises awareness about those experiencing housing stress and the importance of having a safe and secure home.
Homelessness Australia chair Jenny Smith said increased federal funding to the states was critical to grow social housing, as it covers the gap between the cost of building homes and the rent those on the lowest incomes can afford.
"Homelessness is growing faster than population," Ms Smith said.
"When we look back at the total social housing and homelessness funding from five years ago, we can see when you take into account inflation and population growth that funding has not kept pace is real terms.
"When you look at it this year, it's a shortfall of $82 million. Next year we will see that it has grown to $96 million."
Ms Smith said homelessness services were experiencing a "bottleneck" effect.
"We see our refugees and crisis accommodation full. Not full because we don't have enough of them but because those in crisis beds end up living there because there isn't an exit point for them to go to," she said.
Hobart mayor Anna Reynolds said, although there may be many drivers of homelessness, such as long term unemployment and complex issues such as substance abuse or relationship breakdown, homelessness can largely be prevented through funding enough housing with fixed, low rents and security of tenure.
"[The theme] 'housing ends homelessness' aims to highlight the need for more affordable housing as the main solution to addressing homelessness," Cr Reynolds said.
Colony 47 chief executive Danny Sutton called for a more client-centred approach for investing in new housing and services to address homelessness.
"When we talk to people who may be experiencing homelessness they often have complex needs that must be understood to provide the right solution," Mr Sutton said.
"We need significantly more investment in the right sort of housing, in the right place and at the right price with appropriate supports to meet the particular needs of people."
Another key theme of the launch was the importance of bipartisan support in addressing housing stress, in addition to the role that each level of government plays in reducing homelessness.
Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services Luke Howarth said it was great to see representatives from all three levels of government at the launch.
"Suburb by suburb, city by city, state by state - we all have a role to play," Mr Howarth said.
Mr Howarth said homelessness could impact anyone, at any time, and have a profound impact on those who experience it.
"For many people it can only be one crisis away," he said.
"There are few more socially isolating experiences than homelessness."
Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness Jason Clare said the truth was there were more homelessness people than ever before.
"It's not the stereotype the media will often want to paint of an old bloke with a bottle of grog in a brown paper bag sleeping on a park bench," Mr Clare said.
"Almost half the Australians that are homeless today are mums and kids. One in 10 is a Veteran. The fastest growing group of homelessness people in Australia today are older women.
"Nothing we say today is going to fix it - but we can fix it. We are a big enough, rich enough, generous enough country to fix it."
National Homelessness Week is held annually across Australia in the first week of August.