In Australia there are over 120,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night. Homelessness Week aims to raise awareness of the impact of homelessness on Australia via national and local community events, including providing information on the importance of housing as a solution and educating communities on how they can make a difference.

In 2023 the Homelessness Networks across Victoria established the 'Houses at Parliament' campaign.  Homelessness and allied services folded 6,000 origami houses, which were displayed on the steps of Parliament House, to represent the minimum social housing build that Victoria needs each year. 

This campaign ran again in 2024.

• The Campaign had a target for the state to fold 60,000 origami houses by the end of Homelessness Week (to represent the number of households waiting for housing on the Victorian Housing Register). At the time of writing, homelessness and many allied community services had collectively folded 73,606 houses and created homelessness week displays. (You can see some of them here: Ideas for your display | Houses At Parliament (vhn.org.au)
  
  10 Ministers and 58 other Members of Parliament RSVPed to attend the event at Parliament. You can view the event here: 2024 event | Houses At Parliament (vhn.org.au)

We received some good media coverage. These items are estimated to have reached an audience of over half a million people:

• 15 radio programs
• 8 tv programs
• 1 online news site (The Guardian's round up of the world's best photographs of the day: https://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2024/jul/31/a-rhino-calf-and-a-playful-sea-otter-pup-photos-of-the-day-wednesday)
• at least 10 articles in local press; and
• one in Apple News.

We have a short video we can use in community awareness raising events           :                https://vimeo.com/996513403/0154fffb71?share=copy

You can watch the event livestream here: Houses at Parliament livestream (youtube.com)

You can buy merchandise for the campaign here: HEHmerch Shop | Redbubble.  Once you get into the shop it is easier to ‘shop by design’ than ‘shop by product’.

Below are a poster and social media tile that you can download to use for advocacy activities and a link to the short advocacy workshop that the Networks ran. Kate Colvin, Council to Homeless Persons, was the main presenter.

This was our first attempt at an advocacy workshop.  There are some changes that the Working Group would make to the format, if we ran it again. 

One problem was the lack of time for participants to share ideas/strategies and ask question.  We did send out a survey to participants after the session, asking if attendees would like an opportunity to do that, but only heard back from a couple of people – so please let us know if you think that would be useful.

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/gylRWeBsaoMcInXSNQBGAfT5MAJJx1y5sGKLbjAzmrmFHypY0hFSJ4x-QDxhS1BX.sKHG-IzO2ehJ9XCx

Passcode: xKJj2$yP

When the Northern and Western Networks asked consumers in September 2014, what we could do to improve the homelessness system, the response was that the system is largely working well but that we need more housing.

The Networks opted to work with consumers to advocate for more housing, by creating the “More houses for people campaign”. The Northern and Western Homelessness Networks are proud to have worked with people experiencing homelessness in the design of this campaign.

The “More houses for people” campaign provides people who are homeless, and other interested members of the community, with the opportunity to write to the Premier of Victoria, and the Prime Minister, asking that they address the current housing crisis in Victoria through the implementation of a multi-pronged affordable housing strategy.

The campaign called for the State and Federal Governments to work together to implement an affordable housing strategy that includes:

• Growth in public and social housing stock

• Taxation changes to provide incentives to facilitate more affordable rental properties

• Reform of planning regulations for capital builds

• Significant increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance payments

• Greater attention to innovation in design and construction.

In 2019 the Networks were extremely fortunate to have been donated a mural, and rights to the image, by the artist Ashley Goudie (KIL Productions). The Networks used this image to promote a second postcard campaign: Every Victorian Should Have a Home.   

The campaign calls on State and Federal Governments to:

• Fund a monumental boost to social and public housing
• Enact legislation that requires a portion of any new housing development to be allocated to those awaiting this housing
• Construct innovative temporary accommodation that is safe and self contained.
  
   

Everybody's Home is a National campaign to fix the housing crisis in Australia.

It was launched in 2018 by a coalition of housing, homelessness and welfare organisations to achieve the change needed so everybody has a safe and decent place to live.

A secure home is the foundation for a good life. It provides the opportunity for everyone to benefit from the things that make our communities strong: good health, access to education and employment. Take it away, and families are pushed into poverty and insecurity.

Across Australia home prices and rents are skyrocketing, pushing more people into housing stress. Our shrinking proportion of social housing means there is nowhere to go for families pushed out of the rental market.

There are simple things our governments can do to fix this. And that’s what Everybody’s Home is all about – we’re working together to call on Australian governments to bring balance back to the system, so that everybody has a place to call home.

Building more social and affordable housing and providing immediate relief for Australians in chronic rental stress are critical steps to ensure ongoing stability and prosperity for all Australians.

You can find out more information about the campaign here (including maps outlining areas of rent and mortgage stress around Australia): Everybody's Home (everybodyshome.com.au)