Homelessness NSW

Homelessness NSW Senior Policy Officer Chris Hartley was recently out and about at the Hunter Homeless Connect Day, connecting with homelessness services, sector staff and local Green Council representatives in the area. With over 2,000 people seeking assistance at the event, it’s clear that there is an urgent need for more social housing and increased funding for support services in the Hunter region. Congratulations and well done to the organisers and many volunteers who made the Hunter Homeless Connect Day a great success! #hunterhomelessconnectday2024

Save the date 📅 Shifting the Dial to Prevent Homelessness What: An in-person event providing homelessness sector professionals with the opportunity to hear from leaders who are committed to preventing homelessness. Also, a great opportunity to exchange ideas and innovative practice through early intervention. When: 13 September 2024 1pm - 4pm AEST Where: The Theatrette, Parliament House, 6 Macquarie Street, Sydney Get your tickets now to hear our Homelessness NSW CEO Dom Rowe deliver a key message on the prevention of homelessness agenda, as well as these and more fantastic speakers: 🎤 The Hon. Rose Jackson, Minister for Housing and Homelessness 🎤 Caroline Gurney, Future Generation CEO 🎤 Rebecca Pinkstone, Homes NSW CEO 🎤 Kellie Dunn, Australasian Housing Institute CEO 🎤 Margaret Maljkovic. Link Wentworth CCO Find out more and register for your tickets here: https://lnkd.in/gbnpKHYm

Homelessness NSW team members Jessie Robinson and Sarah Luff recently visited the Dharriwaa Elders Group (DEG) of Walgett in Gamilaraay country.   Here they are with some of the DEG team in front of their new reverse osmosis community water fountain! A fantastic resource for a community that has experienced issues with water access due to the public supply in the area being high in sodium (particularly concerning for those living with chronic disease).   DEG also recently engaged Wiradjuri housing researcher and Masters of Architecture graduate Samantha Rich to progress the development of housing models that can respond to their community's priorities and local context, including supporting the diversion of young people from the justice system, crisis accommodation and Elders housing.   You can learn more about DEG and their fantastic advocacy work via their website: https://lnkd.in/gntzGytn   Thank you to the DEG team for having us visit!

We're calling on the NSW Government to sign up to national mandatory design standards that require new housing developments to offer basic accessibility. Almost all other states and territories have signed up to the design standards that simply require developers to build a step-free shower and level entry to houses. You can read the full standards here: https://lnkd.in/gvJHiJzx If it’s good enough for Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, ACT, Northern Territory and Queensland, surely NSW can step up and end housing discrimination! Visit https://lnkd.in/g9kXuAvk to sign the Open Letter to NSW State Leaders. @BetterHomesAus #CmonNSW #EndDiscriminatoryHousing #NSW #buildingbetterhomes #NationalConstructionCode #buildingministers #accessiblehousing #disability #peoplewithdisability

At the final plenary session of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) National Homelessness Conference on Kaurna land yesterday, Homelessness NSW CEO, Dom Rowe summed up the mood for change. “When you get in the room with the decision-makers, ask yourself are you at the table or are you on the menu?  This sector is currently on the menu and we need to use our power to sit at the table.” The theme of the conference was "Gathering Momentum". We are seeing positive momentum in the homelessness space, great initiatives are being discussed and recent budget announcements are a great first step. To really shift the dial on homelessness, we need to keep our advocacy strong. Significant additional investment is needed in social housing and support services. As a sector we need to build support across our communities to strengthen the momentum for change and convince State and Federal Treasury to invest seriously in this vital social infrastructure.

Have you become a Homelessness NSW member yet? Now is the time to join our fight to make sure everyone in NSW has a safe and suitable home! Take five minutes to sign up today: https://lnkd.in/gNHeXjZx As well as receiving a suite of benefits, being a member ensures your voice is heard by those who can influence change and make a positive difference in the lives of those who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness. Complete your sign-up by 1 September 2024 to receive full benefits, including voting on outcomes in our Annual General Meeting (for those signing up as a Homelessness NSW Partner or Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation). Whether you're signing up as a Partner, Changemaker, Sector Hero, Ally or ACCO, we invite you to join us on our journey as we seek to understand the drivers of homelessness, advocate for solutions, build the sector’s skills and knowledge, and scale innovation. Please email members@homelessnessnsw.org.au if you have any questions about becoming a member.

As we reflect on Homelessness Week for 2024, we’d like to say thank you to everyone who took the time to attend an event, sign our short-term rental petition, become a Homelessness NSW member, or raised awareness in any way about people in NSW who are in need of a safe and suitable home. Some of our personal highlights from the week included: 🧡 the Homelessness Week Launch event in Sydney hearing from Clare O'Neil, Kate Colvin, Anne Hollonds, John Leha, Frances Crimmins and our own Dom Rowe 🧡 seeing beautiful art at the Justice and Equity Centre (formerly the Public Interest Advocacy Centre) Art Gallery, The Salvation Army Australia Art Show and the Foster House Inner City Art Expo 🧡 attending the St Vincent's Private Hospital Street Festival 🧡 celebrating the launch of Birribee Housing (a new Aboriginal SHS in Western Sydney) 🧡 visiting the team at Women's Community Shelters to learn more about their amazing work and the challenges they face 🧡 and so much more! On weeks like last week, the Homelessness NSW team are extra thankful for the privilege to work alongside people with experience of homelessness and those seeking to end it. Smart and with big hearts - they’re the very best. Together, we’re capable of anything! #HomelessnessWeek2024 #homelessness #community #NSW

Today for #HomelessnessWeek2024, take two minutes to sign our petition to make Airbnb, Stayz and Expedia pay their dues for contributing to the homelessness crisis! ✍🏽: https://lnkd.in/gJsvz4bu The key to solving homelessness is providing more appropriate housing. Short-term rental providers make this impossible, chasing short-term profits while they price out community residents. Byron Bay is home to the most short-term rental accommodation in the state, while also having a 129% increase in its social housing waitlist! Sign now to show you support a 7.5% levy being added to short-term rental providers, with revenue from this levy being specifically allocated to funding our state's vital homelessness services. #HomelessnessWeek2024 #petition #community #communityaction #makeadifference #policy #NSWGovernment #change

High Needs funding is a unique and impactful part of the Together Home program. Here at Homelessness NSW, we're subcontracted by Homes NSW to administer High Needs funding, which is available to people in Together Home with complex, unmet support needs that are unable to be met through the mainstream services available. The most frequently requested High Needs funding items are specialist health assessments and treatment, with 61% of interventions being for dental assessment and treatment. 🦷 Over $850,000 has directly supported more than 100 people over the past four years. 🧡 While Together Home is ending, High Needs funding remains available to people who are currently housed and supported in the Together Home program. High Needs funding has demonstrated that through increased brokerage, and recognition of the service gaps faced by people experiencing homelessness, we can improve service outcomes and support people to achieve their unique individual goals! #HomelessnessWeek2024 Evolve Housing

Dean Hart, Homelessness NSW's Accreditation Support Officer, was delighted yesterday to attend the launch of Birribee Housing - a new Aboriginal Specialist Homelessness Service at Kimberwalli.   Birribee’s launch signifies a major step forward in supporting the Aboriginal community in Western Sydney through culturally appropriate and comprehensive homelessness services and holistic support such as mental health services, assistance with the Housing Pathways Portal, cultural connection activities and more.   With Aboriginal people strongly disproportionately represented in populations experiencing homelessness, we need more services that are purpose-built to address their unique needs. We’re excited to see the amazing Birribee team promote stability, resilience and pathways to sustainable housing for the people they serve.   Congratulations to the Birribee team on their amazing work making a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need. #HomelessnessWeek2024 #BirribeeHousing #homelessnessservice #homelessness