Data Visualization Report: Homelessness Trends in Australia 2018

This report explores data visualization techniques using SAP Analytics Cloud to analyze homelessness in Australia. It highlights that 0.5% of the Australian population is homeless, with 49 out of every 10,000 people lacking suitable accommodation. The report delves into various factors contributing to homelessness, including youth homelessness, poverty, disability, and issues faced by older people, Aboriginals, and Torres Strait Islanders. It presents data visualizations illustrating the state breakdown, gender distribution, age demographics, reasons for homelessness, and places of dwelling for homeless individuals in Australia, drawing insights from ABS Census data and other research reports to understand the complexities of homelessness in the country.

Business Analytics Data Visualization: Homelessness in Australia

Table of Content
1.0 Introduction 2
2.0 Story: Homelessness in Australia 3
3.0 Visualization: Homelessness in Australia 5
References 13
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1.0 Introduction
The report presents an understanding of data visualization techniques via the use of SAP
Analytics Cloud tools. The application of the data visualization tool is carried out via the
illustration of the story of homelessness in Australia. Australia currently has 0.5 % of its total
population as homeless, which means 49 homeless people out of every 10,000 people.
Homelessness is affected by a number of factors and can be segregated accordingly. This report
firstly presents a brief story on the homeless in Australia focusing on youth homelessness and the
link of homelessness to poverty. The factors that also enhances homeless in Australia are also
discussed. Next, the data visualizations are provided based on factors as illustrated.
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2.0 Story: Homelessness in Australia
On any given night, Australia has 1 in 200 people without shelter, that is homeless.
Australia has 1,05235 homeless people in Australia with a cositutent of 565 male and 44%
female. Homelessness as defined by the Australian Bureau Statistics (ABS, n.d) is when “ a
person does not have suitable accommodation alternatives ” when the current living arrangement
includes impoverished dwelling, supported accommodation, dwelling with no tenure and no
control of, access to space for social relations and is inadequate.
Apart from male and female, homelessness and its impact can be measured with respect to
children, older people, the disabled and among the aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders.
Furthermore, a significant relation between homelessness and poverty can be drawn. As per the
ABs Census (2012), 14,851 people over 55 years of age experienced homelessness in Australia
where they make up about 25% of the total population of the country. Among older people, the
primary elderly at risk of homelessness include those looking affordable housing, those who face
age and gender discrimination in work, reduced income due to death of spouse, financial crisis,
inability to access superannuation, disorder due to alcoholism and insufficient government
pension. As Beer et al.,(2013) states people with disability have a significant exposure to the risk
of homelessness. Currently Australia lacks sufficient amount of appropriate housing for people
with disability. Disability care is provided in fields of health, mental health, for early childhood
development, justice, transport, employment, education, training, child protection and family
support and in housing and community facilities.
Homelessness and Youth: A primary factor contributing to the increase in homelessness in
Australia is the one constituent of the youth. As Scutella et al., (2012) state the significance to
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combat youth homelessness is that youth experiencing homelessness are more likely to
experience it all throughout their adulthood. This indicates a large expense to the Australian
community in terms of justice and community services, finance and health costs. Youth comprise
of young women (aged 15- 24), youth in remote and rural location youth of Torres Strait
Islander and Aboriginals, those living in poverty and youth from non- English speaking
background. Refugee youths face higher risk of homelessness due to the fact that they face
discrimination, experienced trauma, torture and separation, lack social network and face
language barriers and lack knowledge of the homelessness system of the country itself. More so
at a youthfully stage the most of the people are mostly unemployed hence lack of capital to even
pay rents or buy a homestead so that they can call it a home. Also many youths abandon their
children when they discover that they cannot take of their offsprings.This renders the young
born to be homeless not knowing what people to depend and where to live. Most of such kinds
grow up in streets remaining homeless in their entire life.
Homelessness and Poverty: 12% of all Australians live in poverty and 1/4th are children. One
of the primary underlying causes of homelessness is poverty and the factors which benefit
poverty include lack of education, reliance on public housing, little to less money or debt, poor
mental and physical health and others. As Homelessness Australia (n.d) states, 47% of people
who sought out assistance for specialist homelessness services did so out of poverty. In
Australia, the key people affected by poverty and are mainly the constituents of homelessness as
well are unemployed people, single people over 65 years of age, single parent families, single
people without children and people reliant on government payments such as career and disability
support. Another factor that make people homeless is domestic violence. Violence among
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different people within the country make people to move from there region of residence e.g
states, constituents to other areas where they have no home no residential .This makes them to e
homeless.
Lack of affordable housing is another factor that cause people to be homeless. As there maybe
houses that people can rent but this houses still cannot be able to accommodate that larger
population that is out there. The houses will only be able to accommodate a few people among
the many who are homeless. On the other hand, rentals only accommodate those who can pay the
rent living the poor outside who won’t manage to pay rent hence making them homeless. Use of
drugs and alcohol make people dizzy and sometimes extravagant. Drugs causes people not to
think. Most of the lower class living people mostly smoke in Australia, meaning that any single
cent this people find they will consume it through buying drugs claiming that drugs help them
reduce stress which is not actually true this renders them to be mental unhealthy and poor in
making decisions hence they remain homeless at the end due to poor decisions made during the
lifetime.
Another factor that has contributed to poverty and homelessness in Australia is gambling mainly
among the poor. Since being rich is admired by the poor and gambling is always seen as the
easiest way of getting rich. Most of the people take part in gambling in which they mostly loose.
Other go a step ahead by staking their homesteads in which among the two one of them loses this
declares him or her homeless.
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3.0 Visualizations: Homelessness in Australia
3.1 Homelessness by Factors
i) State Breakdown
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ii) By Gender
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iii) By Age
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Given the statistics,
3.2 Reasons for Homelessness
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3.3 Place of Dwelling of Homelessness in Australia
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References
Beer, a, Baker, E, Mallett, S, Batterham, D, Pate, A and Lester, L (2012). Addressing
homelessness amongst persons with a disability: Identifying and enacting best practice., Project
No. 1-EFBLTW
Cencus (2011) 2011 Census QuickStats, Available at:
http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/0
Accessed: 10 June 2018
Scutella, R, Johnson, G, Moschion, J, Tseng, Y.P, and Wooden, M (2012) Journeys Home
Research Report No. 1 Wave 1 Findings, Avialble at:
https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2202838/
Scutella_et_al_Journeys_Home_Research_Report_W1.pdf Accessed: 10 June 2018
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