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homelessness Archives - StreetSmart Australia

Dec 02

SmartMeals delivers nourishment, connection, and hope over 100,000 times

By COVID-19 Emergency Response Grants, DineSmart, SmartMeals, StreetSmart News
To every single donor who has supported our work since March – THANK YOU.  You have enabled us to distribute over 100,000 SmartMeals, through a network of 62 charity partners giving vulnerable people access to nutritious meals. The program has distributed $780,000 to 56 cafes, restaurants and food based social enterprises, keeping people employed. It’s been an extraordinary collaboration driven by community and philanthropy.

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Nov 11

SmartCare Provides First Wellbeing Grants for Essential, Frontline Staff

By COVID-19 Emergency Response Grants, Projects StreetSmart, SmartCare
Staff at South Port Community Group

Staff at South Port Community Group

The workload on our frontline essential workers has been relentless over the past 7 months.  They are the carers that have kept vulnerable people safe, yet they are often people who do not prioritise their own wellbeing. That’s where we have stepped in with an innovative new program. SmartCare raises funds and awareness for staff wellbeing programs.

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.

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Oct 14

The inextricable link between homelessness and poverty

By COVID-19, Homelessness in the news
Centrelink line
Homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked.

If we want to end homelessness, we must also end poverty. Two major policy responses to substantially reduce poverty, and homelessness, have been put forward strongly for at least a decade. Both could also have a substantial impact as an economic stimulus as we navigate the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly, immediately lift Job Seeker payments permanently and secondly, build more public and social housing. Read More

Aug 06

Pandemic paves the way to solving homelessness

By COVID-19, Homelessness in the news

People facing homelessness leave a shelter for a hotel. (ABC News: Scott Mitchell)

It’s Homelessness Week and we are at a pivotal time for homelessness and housing policy in Australia. What we have seen happen since late March has been nothing but monumental and presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform the country’s homelessness system. We need to make sure we continue this revolution for the homelessness sector and not go back to the way it was before the pandemic hit.

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Jul 22

StreetSmart Helps FareShare Provide Food Relief and Employment

By COVID-19 Emergency Response Grants, DineSmart, Grant Impact, News
William and Lorena working at Fare Share

Visa holders William and Lorena working at FareShare

In March, as COVID-19 hit, we saw food relief programs, community kitchens and soup vans ceasing to operate. Anxiety about the virus, social distancing recommendations and a dependence on vulnerable older volunteers meant quick closures.  This left vulnerable people without their usual support and social connections. We also heard from our hospitality partners that they had been hit hard and many vulnerable staff were likely to suffer dis-proportionally.

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Jun 16

Youth Homelessness in the age of COVID-19

By StreetSmart News, StreetSmart Projects
Foyer Shepparton group
Photo Credit: Foyer Shepparton
Young people in their teens and twenties maybe less likely to contract or be at risk from COVID-19, but many will be affected by the societal and financial fall out for years to come. This pandemic has and will have a dramatic impact on young people’s lives, that why this week we made four grants to youth based organisations from our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. Read More

Mar 31

StreetSmart funds emergency relief grants for COVID-19 thanks to 2019 DineSmart

By DineSmart, News, StreetSmart News
Thanks to DineSmart 2019
We have been continually checking in with our community partners throughout this COVID-19 crisis and one thing rings true for every one, they need funding right now. And thanks to the generous support of venues and customers through our 2019 DineSmart campaign we are able to provide immediate grants to help support them through this difficult time.

We will be sharing a lot of the positive impact we’re able to make in the coming days and weeks. Read More

Dec 06

CafeSmart 2019 Funds 173 Community Organisations

By CafeSmart, News

Christmas is only a few weeks away and it’s a mad dash to the end of the year. Our annual DineSmart campaign is in full swing at 118 participating restaurants/cafes across four States. At the same time we have been busy finalising our CafeSmart 2019 collection and allocating our next round of Community Grants. This is what our work is all about…
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