How You Can Help
There are many ways you can support us in achieving our mission to connect vulnerable people in our community with vital services and support.
You can donate directly or participate in our Pay it Forward program, hold a fundraiser on our behalf, consider signing your organisation up to workplace giving or become a member.
Facts about Homelessness
- On Census night in 2016, 116,000 Australians were homeless. 8,200 were sleeping rough.
- Rough sleepers represent just 7% of all homelessness nationally. They are the tip of the iceberg.
- There are about 400 young people who are homeless, couch surfing or car sleeping in the Hunter every night.
- Primary homelessness is experienced by people without conventional accommodation (eg. sleeping rough or in improvised dwellings).
- Secondary homelessness is experienced by people who frequently move from one temporary shelter to another (e.g emergency accommodation, refuges, couch surfing).
- Tertiary homelessness is experienced by people staying in accommodation that falls below minimum community standards (e.g boarding houses and caravan parks).
- More than one in six Australians aged 15-24 are living in poverty.
- In 2014, 2.99 million people (13.3% of the population), were living below the poverty line, after taking account of their housing costs.
- Every day, half of the people who request immediate accommodation from the homeless service system are turned away.
Two in every three children and 80% of families are turned away.
