Help bust stigma on what homelessness is, who experiences it and how it's solved.

• Words matter. Simple changes like replacing the phrase homeless person with person experiencing homelessness reflects it's a temporary experience rather than someone's permanent identity.
• Say something positive about public housing in your community. Use our helpful guide for having conversations at home, work or school. Help reinforce that only more housing + healthcare + support ends homelessness.

Help amplify advocacy campaigns that address the root causes of homelessness. Engage with and share our TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram content, and show your support for:

• Everybody's Home - a national campaign to fix the housing crisis;
• Raise the Rate - a national campaign to increase JobSeeker & Rent Assistance to keep people out of poverty permanently;
• YIMBY Melbourne - a movement advocating for housing abundance across Melbourne's inner-city councils on behalf of the voices of people who'd like to live in an area but can't.

Use your purchasing power – and ‘pay it forward' when buying your next coffee, catering, clothes, good read, cosmetics or interior design.

Our Melbourne Zero Network members, and a host of social enterprises, are all actively addressing homelessness in Melbourne. Show them some love in return. Why not buy one extra for someone else doing it tough?

Donate or volunteer to support a community organisation working to end homelessness. One-off donations from the public help run and scale support services and housing solutions. Regular gifts (monthly donations) provide stability that enables even deeper impact.

Many orgs in our Melbourne Zero Network rely on volunteers like you to deliver

Rough it for those doing it tough – take a challenge for one day that helps end homelessness for lifetime. Pick a date and don your free beanie in The Roughin' It Challenge with mates from work, school or family – 24 hours that not only helps people experiencing homelessness but delivers insights that will surprise you. their services.

Consider switching the management of any investment properties in your orbit to an ethical real estate agency. HomeGround Real Estate is a social enterprise real estate agency where 100% profits help end homelessness in Melbourne.

It offers premium property management services enabling property owners to rent out their investment at standard market rates or offer affordable or social rental rates (with special tax-deductible benefits!) for an even greater impact.

Take steps in your workplace to become a more inclusive employer for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

The Body Shop implemented Australia's first Open Hiring practice in 2021 seeking Christmas casual staff based on their potential not their past. They gained loyal permanent employees and started changing lives.

Ikea and Dan Murphy's have since come on board - open Hiring can be a gamechanger!

Vote for policies that end homelessness (more housing + healthcare + support). Local, State and Federal elections come but every few years and when they do it's a moment to reflect on the policies and platforms candidates and parties offer to end homelessness in Melbourne.

Policy-fueled problems require policy-change solutions. See the handy summary on VCOSS website. Spread the word. Every vote counts.