A desperate dad living in his car, has resorted to putting his children in the care system due to the cost of living crisis in Australia.
Shane - whose name has been changed for privacy reasons - was faced with the impossible decision of putting his children into the care of the state as a result of the ongoing crisis down under.
They are a family of six; Shane and his wife - who are currently living out of their car based in North Adelaide - and their four children who are now in care.
The price of rented accommodation has increased across Australia, leaving thousands of citizens homeless over the past year.
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Talking to 7 News, Shane said: “Our kids are in care because we can’t afford to buy the house that we need for our four kids to be doing the things that they need to do.
“They’re just reaching those ages where everything costs money (and) kids need money.”
Shane and his family were struggling to afford the rising costs of rent and basic necessities, and as a result were forced to give up their home.
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This is their first winter living out of the car, and a broken window means that temperatures can drop drastically, making it difficult to sleep.
To start the day, they travel into the city where they can access free food, and at night they make-do by scouring shelves for discounted items.
The pair have been in contact with numerous homelessness support agencies, but the increased demand means that it is hard to place them in accommodation.
Rental vacancies are around half of what they were before the pandemic.
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According to Homeless Connect, 6600 South Australian residents have been forced into homelessness in the last 12 months.
65 percent of those people came from parents with children, while 70 percent of them came from people aged 18 to 44-years-old.
Social workers in Australia have said that it isn’t just an unemployment concern, people with jobs are also struggling to keep up with the cost of living crisis.
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Chief executive of Workskil Australia, Nicole Dwyer, said: “I’ve been in the industry a long time, and I’ve never seen it this bad.
“Any housing provider you speak to, the demand for services is unprecedented.”
The South Australian government has committed to providing 914 public homes, which will either be new or refurbished existing homes, by 2026.
Topics: Australia, Home, Money, News, Parenting, Cost of Living
Mia Williams