homelessness Archives - StreetSmart Australia

Aug 06

Pandemic paves the way to solving homelessness

By Courtney Rayner 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.

Jul 22

StreetSmart Helps FareShare Provide Food Relief and Employment

By Adam Robinson COVID-19 Emergency Response Grants, DineSmart, Grant Impact, News

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.

Jul 20

Vulnerable Hospitality Workers Receive Meals Through COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund Grants

By Adam Robinson COVID-19 Emergency Response Grants, News

The EAD Team prepping meals

The Hospitality sector has been devastated by COVID-19. 100,000’s of workers have been laid off, or had hours drastically cut. Last week we made five more grants from our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund all targeting the basic needs of these workers, many who aren’t covered by Government support.

Jun 16

Youth Homelessness in the age of COVID-19

By Geeta StreetSmart News, StreetSmart Projects

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 Adam Robinson DineSmart, News, StreetSmart News

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 Adam Robinson 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…
Read More

Nov 11

CafeSmart 2019 Awards – Over 850 Businesses Brew Up To End Homelessness

By Adam Robinson CafeSmart, News, StreetSmart News

Team at Kwik Koffee Busselton WA

This year, on the 9th of August, over 800 cafes, businesses and coffee roasters teamed up with their customers to raise just over $200,000. It was a massive community effort and by working together we are going to impact hundreds of lives. Thanks to everyone who got involved. Read More

May 30

Winter Appeal – Street Medical Outreach Saves Lives

By Adam Robinson News, StreetSmart Projects

Winter is upon us and as the cold starts to bite we know there are thousands of vulnerable people facing a winter outside, sleeping rough, across Australia. This has a profound effect on their health and wellbeing. Experiencing homelessness means a shorter life, especially if you are on the street and unfortunately the numbers of people sleeping rough are rising, with recent street counts confirming these fears. Read More

May 08

DineSmart Restaurants and Diners Team Up to Fund 61 Community Projects

By Adam Robinson DineSmart, StreetSmart News

From November 21st – December 31st, 108 restaurants participated in DineSmart raising funds $1 or $2 at a time, generously donated by diners. This was our 16th DineSmart campaign and our dedicated band of restaurateurs and their staff drove the event – chatting with customers and advocating for a world without homelessness. From all this amazing fundraising activity and generous donations we are now able to support 61 community organisations with $233,950 of funding. Seven grant recipient organisations were funded for the first time, including, The Girls Refuge, Ecumenical Coffee Brigade and Women’s Circus.

This now takes our total funds distributed to $5,642,043, supporting 612 organisations. Read More

Dec 13

4 Simple Things You Can Do To Support People Experiencing Homelessness

By Adam Robinson News

Christmas is just around the corner and for many, that will mean food and fun enjoyed in the company of friends and family.

For the estimated 116,000 people experiencing homelessness – Christmas can be a painful time. While the world around them seems to be connecting with loved ones, it can be a reminder of grief, loss, and isolation. Domestic violence rates tend to rise over Christmas, with increased alcohol abuse and financial stress leading to a spike in homelessness for women, young people and children.

There’s lots of ways to positively contribute to those doing it tough this Christmas, and here are four things you can do to help out… Read More