Homelessness Week 2019 is almost here!
It's almost that time of year, when we come together to raise awareness of homelessness and to call for change.
This year's Homelessness Week will be held between the 4-10 August, with the theme ‘Housing ends homelessness’.
We have created a Digital Campaign Kit for you to download. It contains:
- Key messages
- Social cards
- Key facts
- Suggested Tweets and Facebook posts
We have also created an Events Kit for you to download. It contains:
- Key messages
- How to host an event
- How to engage media
- Event suggestions
Homelessness Australia's website features a list of events being run around the country to mark the week.
The official launch is in Hobart on Monday 5 August, with the Hon Luke Howarth MP, Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services, as well as Jenny Smith, Homelessness Australia Chair, Pattie Chugg, Shelter Tas, and the Lord Mayor of Hobart, Anna Reynolds.
There's also a fantastic range of #HW2019 events planned around Victoria, including:
- the Eastern Homelessness Networks Homeward Bound walk on 30 July
- My Name Is ... awareness project featuring participants with a lived experience of homelessness; a joint initiative of Bayside, Port Phillip and Kingston Councils, with support from CHP.
- two art shows, one by Wintringham from 5-7 August at Victoria University in Footscray and one by Wombat in conjunction with HoMie at Apollo Cafe in West Melbourne from 7 August.
- Big Issue will be hosting a street soccer tournament on 7 August at North Melbourne Community Centre from 2-4pm, for more info or to RSVP email melbournesoccer@bigissue.org.au.
Dr Peter Mackie
On Thursday 8 August the Social Global Studies Centre at RMIT University together with Council to Homeless Persons, Unison Housing and the Centre for People, Organisation and Work, will host a guest lecture by Dr Peter Mackie of Cardiff University, who will talk about the impact of the legal duty on local authorities to prevent homelessness in Wales. Register here.
If you are planning to run any activities, please let us know so we can include them in our Homelessness Week communications and online. If not, it's not too late to organise an activity! To add them to the Homelessness Australia listings, just email Andrew with details including the name, date, time, and location of your event, and a one-paragraph description.
Here are some ideas:
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Did you know?
Council to Homeless Persons have a range of homelessness-related fact sheets on our website. These can be used during Homelessness Week to dispel myths and enlighten people about the truth around what causes and what can alleviate homelessness.
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AIHW data shows further decline in social housing
Last Thursday the new AIHW Housing Assistance in Australia 2019 report was released. This revealed that the proportion of all housing that is social housing fell both across Australia nationally and in Victoria.
Nationally, social housing as a share of all housing fell from 5.3% of all housing in 2005-06 to 4.6% in 2017-18.
CHP prepared this release for Homelessness Australia highlighting this decline, and calling for the Federal Government to invest in more housing.
CHP also highlighted the pattern of social housing decline over the past five years in Victoria, now fallen again from 3.4% to 3.3% in the year to June 2018,
CHP's media release included a call from CEO Jenny Smith for the state government to urgently accelerate social housing growth to begin to address this shortfall and to reduce homelessness.
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New addition to #VHC2019 Program
The Victorian Homelessness Conference is the premier homelessness conference for practitioners | policymakers | researchers | consumers | allied health and welfare professionals | private and philanthropic sector representatives & students
October 14-15
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Southbank
We're excited to announce a new addition to the #VHC2019 conference program – an agenda-setting forum on the NDIS.
A senior leader from the National Disability Insurance Agency and McAuley Community Services’ Carol Vale will join consumers with a lived experience of homelessness in a panel discussion about the constantly evolving NDIS system. They will explore the ongoing challenges being experienced by people with disability who are homeless or at risk, as well as the difficulties faced by the homeless sector in securing support for highly vulnerable consumers.
The panel will also seek to articulate the changes needed to make the system meet the needs of people with complex needs.
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Homelessness Achievement Awards
One month left to nominate for a Victorian Homelessness Achievement Award
You’ve got great programs, you’ve got great people, and you might even have great partnerships. Well now is the time to recognise them by nominating them for a Victorian Homelessness Achievement Award (VHAA).
The VHAA’s are Victoria’s pre-eminent award for those programs and people working to end homelessness in Victoria. The opportunity to nominate for one only comes around every 2 years – so don’t miss your chance!
Nominations close on 25 August.
The awards cover 7 categories – so you’re sure to find one applicable to your work! Click on a link below to nominate your great program, person or partnership.
Excellence in Ending Homelessness – Children and families
Excellence in Ending Homelessness – Young people
Excellence in Ending Homelessness – Adults
Excellence in Ending Homelessness – Diverse groups
The Leading Practitioner award
The Consumer Achievement Award
The Beth Thomson Lifetime Achievement Award
CHP is proud to present this beautiful original artwork that will appear on the 2019 Victorian Homelessness Achievement Awards; Yelka Yabini Waaly (Hawks Healing the Cuckoo Spirit Bird), 2018 by artist Morgs |
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Linking crime to homelessness creates harm
During the development of the Victorian Homelessness Media Awards, we’ve been considering the way that language used in media reporting affects public perceptions.
This article in The Conversation, carelessly linking crime to being homeless adds to the harmful stigma, written following the murder of Courtney Herron is a terrific read.
“For victims of crime who lack stable housing, news media use their homelessness as evidence of their vulnerability. For perpetrators without housing, media use their homelessness as a context and explanation of their behaviour,” it reads.
As we have pointed out in our Media Guidelines for Reporting on Homelessness, journalists should consider if including someone’s housing status in a news report is necessary (which it often is!). If it is, though, let’s be conscious of how that information is conveyed and connected to the events being reported on.
People's Pick
Even if you’re not a journalist, you can still get involved in the Victorian Homelessness Media Awards.
The #VHMA2019 People’s Pick lets the public get involved by bringing our attention to reporting that is respectful, courageous and dives deep into systemic causes.
Here’s a pick we received from someone who thought this article 'One of the Worst Things about Homelessness’ in The Age stood out. Do you think this article is worthy of an award? Have you seen better?
Tell us today here: https://chp.org.au/media-awards-peoples-pick/
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CHP submission to the Royal Commission into Mental Health
CHP has made a formal submission to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System asking them to recognise the importance of housing for those receiving mental health care in the community.
Homelessness damages people’s mental health and undermines their ability to get treatment. We’re calling on the Commission to recognise that a range of housing options are needed to support people with a wide range of different mental health needs. Read our submission here.
A special thanks to our Peer Education Support Program members who provided insights from their own very difficult times. You can see some of their insights below
‘Having a home when you’re receiving mental healthcare keeps you safe and secure.’
- Nigel Pernu, Consumer / Advocate
‘You can actually start building up a good relationship with your GP and all of the services in your area, so that you finally get a good overall history going, and build a relationship with your professional’
- Christine Thirkell, Consumer / Advocate
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Read Parity Magazine
Every month, CHP showcases some of the terrific contributions to Parity magazine in our eNews and on Twitter. Below you can read two articles from the May 2019, Homelessness: Diversity and Inclusion edition:
"Understanding our communities' diverse identities & lived experience are vital to ensuring we respond effectively to homelessness for LGBTIQ+ people"
A must-read on promoting safety, respectful communication and self-determination for trans, gender diverse and non-binary people experiencing homelessness by Starlady, Zoe Belle Gender Collective & Jennifer Tobin.
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Get full access to Parity - become a subscriber
For complete access to every new addition of Parity, and to a 13-year back-catalogue, simply register as a New User on the CHP Member Portal and choose your subscription type.
If you work for a CHP member organisation you can access Parity free online once you activate your staff login to the Portal. Your CEO can send a link to your staff that enables you to log in.
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