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National Homelessness Week (#HW2020)

Every Victorian Should Have a Home

National Homelessness Week (August 3-8, 2020) gives us the opportunity to think about what having a home means to those of us who have them, and to consider what it might be like for those who don’t have them. This week also provides an opportunity for those who are concerned about the numbers of people experiencing homelessness in Victoria to take action.

COVID 19 has caused so much uncertainty for so many people. If there is one thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted, it is the importance of a home. Yet Victoria is experiencing a housing crisis. The numbers of people presenting to homelessness services has doubled in some areas during the pandemic. Loss of work has meant that thousands of households are experiencing homelessness for the first time.

Victoria was already experiencing a housing crisis prior to the pandemic. If you would like to know more about homelessness and the housing crisis in Victoria, please click on this link to go to our website: Every Victorian Should Have a Home. On the website you will find a short powerpoint providing more information, and some case studies and comments from people with a lived experience of homelessness.

What do we need to address the current housing crisis?

We know that Victorians are very concerned about the numbers of people who don’t have a safe home and many feel that homelessness is a complex issue to resolve. The solution is simple: we need housing:

  1. A monumental boost to social and public housing Victoria needs 166,000 new social housing properties by 2036. (Research shows that the cheapest way to produce more social housing is for the Government to build it. The current need to stimulate the economy provides a wonderful opportunity to boost the construction industry, one of Australia’s biggest employers. See information about the proposed Social Housing Acceleration and Renovation Program: https://www.communityhousing.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SHARP-Program.pdf)
  2. Legislation that requires a portion of any new housing development to be allocated to those awaiting this housing (otherwise known as inclusionary zoning).
  3. Construction of innovative temporary accommodation that is safe and self-contained for those people who have nowhere safe to live whilst they await construction of social housing. (See our report, A Crisis in Crisis about the appalling lack of crisis accommodation in Melbourne. At present there are 2,000 households, who were experiencing homelessness, accommodated in largely poor quality hotels).

What can you do?

  • Sign the ‘’Every Victorian Should Have a Home’’ petition
  • Visit the Every Victorian Should Have a Home website and watch powerpoint presentation and learn more about homelessness and the housing crisis on our , watch Filthy Rich and Homeless or You Can’t Ask That or if you have kids, Sesame Street
  • Ring, email or write to your local Members of Parliament to tell them that Every Victorian Should Have a Home. See the website for MP contact information. See our ‘asks’ below. A quick phone call or a short email to let your local Members of Parliament know that you are concerned about homelessness in your area is powerful. You can ask that they priortise fixing Victoria’s housing crisis.
  • Join the national Everybody’s Home campaign https://everybodyshome.com.au/
  • Talk to your friends, family and colleagues about the housing crisis in Victoria.

This news item has been shared by the North West LASN.