Be an ally

Being an ally also includes getting involved with awareness weeks such as Homelessness Week in August. This week is all about bringing the issue of homelessness and the importance of social housing into the spotlight and onto the agenda of local, state and federal governments.

During this week, Sacred Heart Mission engage local council representatives, politicians and journalists to visit our services, like the Dining Hall, to see first-hand the work we are doing to both prevent and respond to homelessness in St Kilda.

Homelessness Week is also an opportunity to collaborate with fellow advocacy organisations on campaigns with the purpose of making ending homelessness a priority for communities, policy makers and legislators.

A key campaign we support is Everybody’s Home. The campaign aims to fix the housing system by building social and affordable housing, improving support for first homebuyers and calling for better rental laws. Governments can end the housing and homelessness crisis in Australia.

Sacred Heart Mission also supports Raise the Rate for Good, a campaign led by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), campaigning to fix our social safety net for good to keep people out of poverty – with an income of at least $69 per day. If you believe the rate should be raised, use your voice to be an ally of this campaign.

The term homelessness is broad, and while everyone has a different experience of being homeless, at its very core, homelessness is about absence.