It’s Homelessness Week this week – a time of the year when the nation focus on the many vulnerable people we work with who are at risk or are experiencing homelessness. It’s a growing issue, with more than 24,000 Victorians or 116,000 Australians having no place to call home on any given night, according to the 2018 Cencus. That’s an increase of 13.7% in five years. They include; families with children, young people, older people, single adults and people with disabilities.
Watch the following video to learn more.
Most people actually become homeless in the suburbs, so it’s fitting that this year’s Homelessness Week theme is ‘Housing Ends Homelessness’. This campaign emphasises the need for a national plan to end homelessness and a national housing strategy to deliver 500,000 social and affordable rental homes.
In the last 12 months:
- 712 volunteers participated in 102 Outreach Program nights, reaching people sleeping rough in the City of Melbourne.
- we distributed over 3200 blankets to homeless services across Victoria. This is the highest number we have ever distributed within a 12 month period.
- 630 volunteers helped serve over 3000 meals at Soul Kitchen – Braybrook. This program is addressing food in-security and building community for individuals and families every Sunday night.
We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of all of our volunteers who are making a difference for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The love and commitment you put into volunteering through our Outreach Program or Soul Kitchen is making a real impact on vulnerable people in our community and makes an improvement to their quality of life.
We would also like to thank the team volunteering at Soul Kitchen – Preston for the first time this weekend. We are excited to be able to start offering our services for people in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.
Thank you for all of your contributions to 300 Blankets. As a 100% volunteer charity, we would not be able to do what we do without you.
