Homelessness is reaching an alarming high amongst Australia and the UK, with some regions doubling in numbers over a span of five years.

Of those who are considered homeless, a large amount turn to the streets, or other improvised dwellings (tents, self constructed shelters) to rest for the night. They are commonly referred to as "rough sleepers".

In the North West of England, the number of rough sleepers has doubled in size from 2011 to 2017. They have a population of 7.22 million with 434 rough sleepers (2017). The North West of England has continued to increase over the span of five years.

Despite being a region with two major cities, unexpectedly Liverpool and Manchester only account for 31% of the region's rough sleeping population. This means that a vast majority of rough sleepers are found in suburban areas in the North West (2016).

With 7.79 million residents, New South Wales is Australia's most populated state and has 2588 people sleeping on the streets (2016). This number is large when compared to other states in Australia. New South Wales has seen over 600 more people turning to the streets since the 2011 census.

With two regions of similar population and city/suburban divide, the difference in numbers of rough sleepers is striking. Numbers of homelessness within Australia and the UK may vary due to many factors.

Information provided on England.shelter.co.uk discusses potential causes of homelessness including personal causes (mental health, relationships), structural causes (poverty, unemployment) and access to charitable resources.

In New South Wales, men tend to be out on the streets more than women, with 70.8% of males sleeping rough as opposed to 29.2% of females.

For North West England, the divide is even greater with 88.7% of men sleeping rough compared to 11.3% of women.

The vast gender divide between men and women is not clear, however research shows that there are multiple shelters dedicated to taking women off the streets to improve both their mental and physical health. A potential reason for an influx of men on the streets could be a result of the high presence of organisations who specifically aid homeless women. An example of this is the Women's Community Shelter's in New South Wales who take in women in crisis. Similarly, organisations in England such as Women's Aid provide specific help to homeless women, which may account for the larger portion of men in the streets.

Some major cities in both nations have been exercising methods to deter homeless people, often referred to as "hostile architecture". This is enforced by making objects such as street benches and other sheltered areas uninhabitable for those seeking places to sleep.

Hostile architecture is subtle, however is effective in its design. It can be in the form of raised bars on benches, spikes in sheltered area, and narrow perch style seats at bus stops. Essentially, it's made to be aesthetically pleasing so passers by don't realise the agenda behind it.

Whilst it may be getting rough sleepers out of the city, it doesn't alleviate the immediate problem of people sleeping rough in the first place. Some organisations are trying to help the problem however, such as the National Youth Coalition for Housing, who do all they can to help the homeless youth in Melbourne.

Organisations such as Street Support, aiding the homeless of main cities in North West England, are a stepping stone for the decrease in rough sleepers. This is accompanied by a supporting community both online and in the streets with protests in Manchester against the hostile architecture in 2017 and petitions in 2018.

Louise Casey, head of the UK Government’s Troubled Families Programme, said, “Homelessness is not a hopeless or helpless and unsolvable problem. It is a global issue that demands our attention now."