Australia should lead the way in providing people on the margins with a place they can call home rather than just a bed for the night, said Dr John Falzon, the St Vincent de Paul Society’s national council CEO, reports The Catholic Weekly.

He was responding to the Australian Community Sector Survey 2012, a survey of 665 welfare agencies which found the lack of secure and affordable housing is the biggest problem the disadvantaged face.

About 80 per cent of agencies that specialise in helping the homeless said they could not meet the demand for services, and that waiting times for their clients had increased, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

The annual survey by the Australian Council of Social Service shows that housing was nominated by 59 per cent of all welfare agencies as the most pressing need.

Mental health services was the second highest need that was not being met.

FULL STORY Housing most pressing need