Did you know that 1 in 200 people are homeless across Australia on any given night? This number is truly hard to believe. Approximately there are 105,237 people in Australia who are homeless right now!
A more staggering number is that 1 in 8 Australians have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. It’s certainly an issue which needs a big wake up call.
What is the government doing about it? Major non-profit bodies have stated previously that the government needs to address this issue promptly.
Recently, Glenda Stevens, CEO of Homeless Australia, has called for the government to focus more attention and funding to help with the homeless concern in Australia. In response to a recent RMIT survey, where they found 1.4 million Australians have slept rough at some stage in their lives, Stevens responded;
“This research should be a big wakeup call to the government. Without taking real steps to address the chronic lack of affordable housing and considering the impact of funding that does not properly resource services this number is only going to rise,” she said.
“The next census will be in 2016 and the census team needs to use this information to ensure everyone is counted. Homelessness Australia will use this research to work with government and services to ensure that gaps are met.”
Mission Australia has also urged Malcolm Turnbull and the Federal Government to focus on halving people who are homeless across the country.
There are many positive steps towards helping homelessness in Australia be reduced. Whilst the government plays a big role in the driving force for reducing homelessness rates, there are many great organisations which are making big grounds for individual support, shelter, funding, awareness initiatives, access to grants, local community support and many more.
How can you and everyone in Australia help? Supporting organisations to help homelessness in Australia is what we need to come together to solve. Here are 7 organisations below which you can support and help volunteer.
1. Homelessness Australia
Homelessness Australia is the national peak body for homelessness in Australia. They play a big role, alongside their mission, to research, develop and promote national policy to help drive action in reducing people who are homeless and support the various impacts it has for a diverse range of people.
They are always looking for support and new members. Click here for more info on how you can help.
2. Mission Australia
Mission Australia has been a great organisation which has been around for 155 years, helping Australian’s who suffer from homelessness, employment, alcohol and drug issues, youth services, family & children services, mental wellbeing, and help form strategic initiatives and policy development and advocacy.
A truly great organisation with the aim of cutting homelessness by 50% in the year 2025. You can read more about their action plan here.
3. StreetSmart Australia
Flatmate.com is proudly partnered with StreetSmart Australia to drive community support through grassroot campaigns and helping other small niche community organisations with grants and funding. They are based in Melbourne and and nationally raised over $3 million and have helped fund over 1,100 projects. Alongside these amazing stats, they have supported over 452 organisations.
You can check out how you can get involved here.
4. Salvation Army
The Salvation Army in Australia has continued to be a great contributor to the social good of Australia. In addition to the many other causes they are helping, helping the homeless crisis in Australia is certainly one of them. The Red Cross has numerous programs to help people maintain their housing and avoid homelessness, as well as those currently experiencing homelessness.
You can read more about their wonderful programs here and how you can help!
5. St.Vincent De Paul Society
Another major peak body is St.Vincent De Paul, who have helped over many years, people who are experiencing homelessness in Australia and people who are close to being homeless. They have some amazing initiatives and campaigns to raise money, including the CEO Sleepout campaign, and the campaign to pressure the state and territory governments to solve the homeless crisis in Australia.
There are many more organisations and we want to help them!
There are many organisations in Australia who are doing a wonderful job in helping reduce homelessness country-wide. We want to help and everyone in Australia can help too! If we have missed your organisation in this list, please contact: [email protected].
We would love to interview any organisational or personnel to drive the reduction of homelessness in Australia.
Note: These companies are not ranked in order of preference. They are all amazing organisations and need all the support they can get. Lets help reduce homelessness in Australia together!
