As the year draws to a close, it’s been a challenging time for low-income families feeling the pinch as well as those displaced by flooding in VIC and NSW. Local Sheridan stores have been raising awareness and funds so that over 10,500 sleep kits can be distributed to those most vulnerable in their communities. This means SleepSafe is on track to deliver over 40,000 high quality linen and towel Sleep Kits in 2022, bringing comfort, dignity, and support to vulnerable people in crisis.
Young people make up just 14% of the workforce but bore 55% of the job losses during the 2021 lockdowns. The pandemic has compounded the problems of decades of high youth unemployment and underemployment, and the transition between education and employment, especially for those without a safe and secure place to call home. With the help of a generous philanthropic donor, we have been able to distribute $80,000 to 10 organisations responding to the needs of young people.
Australians are turning to charity, often for the first time in their lives, as they try to make ends meet and put food on the table. Over one million people every month are relying on Foodbank to help feed themselves and their families. As they struggle to pay rent and bills, purchasing food slips down the priority list, often resulting in going without. With the help of a philanthropic partner, we have been able to distribute $80,000 in grants to 16 community organisations to make more food available for those struggling.
Like so many in the not-for-profit sector the small team at StreetSmart have been working hard over the past 26 months to do what we can to support vulnerable people through the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic aftershocks. We have been working closely with hundreds of small grassroots services who are on the frontline delivering client facing services. 9 recent grants of $11,700 have been distributed to provide recognition, support, and capacity building for frontline staff.
We are celebrating 3 years of SleepSafe, our material aid program that funds and distributes high quality sheets and towels to frontline organisations and the vulnerable communities they support. Sustained by the efforts of Sheridan staff and the donations of their customers, our SleepSafe initiative has provided dignity and comfort to more than 64,400 vulnerable Australians and invaluable support to the 540 community organisations that assist them.
StreetSmart is an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming workplace that values diversity of expression. We know that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are particularly vulnerable to experiencing homelessness and we partner with organisations that work to support people in need, without discrimination or prejudice.
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the unceded lands on which our organisation is located and where we conduct our business. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present. StreetSmart is committed to honouring Indigenous peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.
StreetSmart is an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming workplace that values diversity of expression. We know that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are particularly vulnerable to experiencing homelessness and we partner with organisations that work to support people in need, without discrimination or prejudice.
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the unceded lands on which our organisation is located and where we conduct our business. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present. StreetSmart is committed to honouring Indigenous peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.
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