Thursday, 4 August 2016

As the community marks Homelessness Week, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation recognises that the need for preventative initiatives, affordable housing options and long-term solutions has never been greater; the number of people experiencing homelessness in Melbourne has risen by 74 per cent in the last two years, while families and individuals are increasingly burdened by housing stress, spending over 30 per cent of their gross income on housing costs.

 

“The Foundation, like many Victorians, is concerned about the rising rate of homelessness in our community. The lack of crisis accommodation and long-term affordable housing, the impact of family violence, as well as the need for intensive support for people with complex mental health issues are just some of the causes of homelessness that we are trying to address through grantmaking,” says Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Brown.

“Homelessness Week offers our community a chance for to reflect on ways that we can overcome this growing issue and work collaboratively with partners from academia, social enterprise, charity, local government and philanthropy.”

In response to this community need, since 2013 the Foundation has provided close to $4 million in grants to charities running early intervention support programs and affordable housing initiatives.

$2 million loan from the Foundation’s Affordable Housing Loan Fund, established last year with Social Enterprise Finance Australia (SEFA), is also enabling Habitat for Humanity to construct new homes for low-income families in Greater Melbourne and Geelong as part of a social home ownership program.

Discover how the Foundation is helping to prevent homelessness through early intervention projects and increasing the supply of affordable housing »