Pictured: Just Home Margaret River (Source)
$63,400 helps to drive systemic change and bolster the frontline
It’s no secret that our homelessness sector is stretched thin. Staff working on the frontline of our housing and homelessness crisis are desperately trying to respond to more people seeking help, more complex caseloads, with insecure and inadequate funding. We regularly hear from our community organisation network that 2024 saw rises in demand for homelessness services of 40%. In this ‘climate of crisis,’ opportunities that strengthen frontline organisations and staff often fall to the wayside and are unable to be prioritised.
That’s why we rallied our community to fund a number of areas of impact which are constantly overlooked but are crucial in building a resilient sector and driving systemic change. Firstly, investing in staff training and wellbeing support helps to directly protect staff from burnout and reduce workforce turnover. Secondly, elevating the voices of people with lived experience can support staff and help shape responses and policy. Ensuring authentic and genuine incorporation of Lived Experience into program design and delivery brings compassion and humanity to solving this problem, increasing public awareness and understanding, leading to more effective solutions. And thirdly, through supporting advocacy campaigns we can work collaboratively towards greater public, corporate, and political awareness of the issues faced by people experiencing homelessness and those who support them.
“Without structured opportunities for reflection and wellbeing support, staff are at higher risk of burnout, which can impact retention. We have unfortunately seen a medium turnover at Juno, especially in family violence roles, which is turn impacts client’s outcomes and their continuity with workers“– Juno in VIC, Melbourne (on Wurundjeri Country)
63,400
709
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Driving Systemic Change through Lived Experience, Advocacy, and Staff Wellbeing
Through this grants round, we have been able to fund a range of grassroots projects and smaller community organisations. The grants detailed below are helping pay people with Lived/Living Experience to share their expertise and shape better policy, plan and launch community wide awareness raising campaigns that generate ground-up activism to drive systemic change, as well as increase access to wellbeing and training opportunities for burnout frontline staff.
“Homelessness in the regions has never been so prolific, and the more awareness we can bring to Council, local MP’s and the general public, the more we can generate understanding of homelessness and the complexities of individual cases. This grant will help us activate the Houses at Parliament project to advocate for Government investment in housing“– Loddon Mallee Homelessness Network in VIC (on Dja Dja Wurrung Country)
| Organisation | Region | Grant $ |
| A Curious Tractor – JusticeHub | National | $3,900.00 |
| Australian Alliance to End Homelessness | National | $3,900.00 |
| Council to Homeless Persons | VIC – Statewide | $5,000.00 |
| First Step | VIC – Melbourne Metro | $5,000.00 |
| Flat Out | VIC – Melbourne Metro | $5,000.00 |
| Gold Coast Youth Service | QLD – Gold Coast | $3,900.00 |
| Home Truths – City of Melbourne | VIC – Melbourne Metro | $5,000.00 |
| Housing for the Aged Action Group | VIC – Statewide | $5,000.00 |
| Housing Matters | NSW – Belligen | $3,900.00 |
| Juno | VIC – Melbourne Metro | $5,000.00 |
| Just Home Margaret River | WA – Margaret River | $3,900.00 |
| Loddon Mallee Homelessness Network | VIC – Regional | $5,000.00 |
| Peer Education Support Program | VIC – Statewide | $5,000.00 |
| Women’s Community Shelters | NSW and VIC | $3,900.00 |
| TOTAL | $63,400.00 |
Pictured: Council to Homeless Persons PESP Program
“Podcasting provides a vehicle for Lived Experienced voices to raise community awareness of the real time issues faced by those who are or have endured being without a home. It will have an impact on public opinion, create opportunities for advocacy and social/ political change to end homelessness. The grant will be used to cover Honorarium payments for peer-educators for the podcast.” – Council to Homeless Persons, VIC (on Wurundjeri Country)
“The JusticeHub is a digital platform that connects and amplifies the voices of service providers and young people with justice system experience, enabling them to share their stories, collaborate on solutions, and drive systemic change. This funding is helping the development of the platform including the resource library of advocacy materials, service provision map, and hosting collaborative tools. – A Curious Tractor
“We have a passionate and dedicated workforce. As part of staff wellbeing we would like to be able to offer social and recreational opportunities to have some down time but to bond together – strengthening their social ties and improving resiliencee” – Gold Coast Youth Service, QLD (on Yugambeh Country)
“This is helping us activate the HOME TRUTHS project, which will create a public platform for the voices of people who are (or have been) homeless, bringing their words directly into the public realm through brief handwritten texts displayed on large street posters. – HOME TRUTHS
Pictured: Gold Coast Youth Service
“Podcasting provides a vehicle for Lived Experienced voices to raise community awareness of the real time issues faced by those who are or have endured being without a home. It will have an impact on public opinion, create opportunities for advocacy and social/ political change to end homelessness. The grant will be used to cover Honorarium payments for peer-educators for the podcast.” – Council to Homeless Persons, VIC (on Wurundjeri Country)
Our donors and supporters have collectively impacted over 709 lives and strengthened 14 smaller grassroots programs on the frontline of the homelessness crisis. We are always interested in connecting with philanthropists, trusts and foundations and companies who are looking to partner for positive impact and respond to homelessness in Australia, please reach out at partners@streetsmartaustralia.org if this sounds like you.
