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Make some noise this National Homelessness Week

We’re so close to hitting another milestone in our movement. Can you help us get to 5000 signatures? 

If you haven’t yet, please share our Melbourne Zero campaign with someone in your community – a colleague, clubmate, friend, or family. With your help and theirs, we can make Melbourne a world-leading city in ending street homelessness.  

What better time to join the movement than ahead of National Homelessness Week next week with the theme: It’s Time to End Homelessness 

Add your voice to the call for our leaders to ensure healthcare and supportive housing are at the heart of any plan to end homelessness.

 

A sneak peek for you… 

How does Melbourne fare on measures of homelessness compared to other cities in Australia and around the world? 

We’ve been working on a special project, collecting global data to paint a clearer picture of what’s driving homelessness and the solutions. Stay tuned for more details next week via our social media channels. 

And come on into the CBD to check out our display outside the Melbourne Town Hall next week!  

Melbourne Zero
https://www.melbournezero.org.au/


Working together to get to zero


For National Homelessness Week we’ve put together a short video with just some of our Melbourne Zero Network partners who are working to help end homelessness. 
  
 


City of Yarra joins the Zero movement 

The Yarra Zero project, a partnership between the City of Yarra and Launch Housing, officially kicked off in July!   

With the goal of achieving ‘functional zero’ homelessness for people sleeping rough in the City of Yarra – achieved when any experience of homelessness in a community is rare, brief and non-recurring – the project is coordinating a local response that gets to know everyone sleeping rough in the area by name, understands their needs and provides integrated services to help them find and sustain housing. 

A live list of over 20 people are now being supported by local partners including cohealth, Ngwala Willumbong, St Vincent’s Hospital, Fitzroy Legal Service, The Salvation Army, St Mary’s House of Welcome, Aboriginal Housing Victoria and more. 

Find out more about the Yarra Zero project, or check the progress of your LGA here. 


Susan’s Journey Back to Her Home  

You hide it, because you feel ashamed...you've messed up, you've done something wrong...how could you end up homeless? 

Homeless people feel that stigma, and we need to break it, and we need to give them love.”  

Susan’s three-bedroom home was her sanctuary for 11 years. Then a series of events turned her world upside down, leaving her with nowhere to turn and no affordable housing options in sight. Susan was homeless for several months and at times fearfully slept in her car.  

Watch Susan’s story about how she came to heal after finding a home. 


Big Thinkers: Solving Homelessness Will Save Australia Billions – So What’s the Big Delay?

There is abundant evidence to show that eliminating homelessness has one of the best returns on investment of any public policy measure, writes Emma Dawson, Executive Director of public policy think tank, Per Capita. 

Read how Emma crunched the numbers in our latest Big Thinkers piece. 


Arron Wood says rough sleeping one of his "toughest experiences"

In 2017, environmentalist and former Deputy Lord Mayor at the City of Melbourne Arron Wood spent 10 days and nights on the streets of Melbourne for the SBS tv show ‘Filthy Rich & Homeless’. 

We sat down with him to talk about ending homelessness in Melbourne. 


Things you can do this National Homelessness Week

Check out our display outside the Melbourne Town Hall from 7-13 August, post a photo of it on social media with #MelbourneZero

Talk to someone about ending homelessness in our city. We’ve pulled together a conversation pack with helpful info to support you having constructive conversations about how we can end homelessness.  

We’ve printed a bunch of Melbourne Zero stickers  –  order some (they’re free for you!) and stick them up around your neighbourhood. Email us at [email protected], and check out other things you can print out here.

 

Want more ideas? 

There’s lots that you can do to help end homelessness in Melbourne - no matter how much time you have.  

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Add your voice today

From business leaders to your next-door neighbours, we're calling on every Melburnian to join the Melbourne Zero movement and help end homelessness in our city.