Our End of Year appeal was generously supported by our giving community allowing 20 smaller, grassroots organisations to scale up their prevention programs to intervene early and stop homelessness before it starts.
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In August 2021 we made an additional 11 SmartCare grants.
Frontline homelessness work is very challenging and throughout the pandemic workers have had to care for others first and self, second. Burnout is frequent and impacts the individual and the level of care that can be provided to people experiencing homelessness. Read More
Bolton Clarke staff picnic funded by SmartCare
Frontline homelessness case work is distressing and enormously stressful. Staff burnout happens regularly. Workers often suffer ‘vicarious trauma’ as a result of being regularly exposed to distressing material or stories.
That’s why we set up SmartCare. It is an innovative program providing support to our frontline workers. People caring for marginalised and disadvantaged people often don’t take the time or have the necessary tools to look after their own mental and physical wellbeing. In order for charities to retain talented, caring and professional people they need to make sure their staff is supported. So, we stepped in. The StreetSmart community rallied together and donated to enable us to provide 15 grants in November. This meant for the first time in a long while or first time ever, charities could provide team building sessions, self-care initiatives, personal counselling and reward programs.
Here is what it meant to the organisations and their staff…
Staff at South Port Community Group
We are excited to announce that just two months after launching SmartCare we have just made our first round of SmartCare Grants across five states. Fifteen organisations were funded with $47,000 worth of grants, impacting an estimated 540 staff.
