Category: Homelessness
Homelessness – the reality in 2024
Homelessness can affect men, women and children from a wide range of backgrounds. A shortage of affordable housing and high rents means that people on low incomes are increasingly vulnerable to homelessness.
Advocating for Craig
Craig was homeless. He had a history of incarceration, mental illness and substance misuse when he was referred to CatholicCare. Now, he has a place to call home, a range of supports to help him get back on track, and hope for a better future.
Marking Homelessness Week 2023
On any given night, 116,000 people in Australia are experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is not ‘rooflessness’.
KEYS program helps Lily
While many women are resting and nesting at 37 weeks pregnant, this was the last thing on Lily’s mind. At 22 years old and heavily pregnant, Lily was referred from CatholicCare’s Safe Homes program to the KEYS program that supports young parents aged 16 – 24 years who are homeless, or at risk of being homeless.
Dom’s mission to make a difference
Dom was living at home with his parents when a family member’s addiction suddenly made ‘home’ a place that was unpredictable, chaotic, and stressful. In this confusing time, Dom found help and refuge with the CatholicCare team.
Anna finally has a safe place to call home
For 29 year old Anna and her daughter, the Lindara Family Program is the reason they aren’t homeless today. Issues around housing affordability and ongoing experiences of family and domestic violence left Anna in a constant state of fear that she and her daughter would have nowhere safe to live.
Learn more about Dom’s Place – our new homelessness hub in Hornsby
Homeless people in Sydney’s north will have a new safe place to visit, enjoy social interaction and connect with support services, with the opening of Dom’s Place in Hornsby in April. Dom’s Place is an initiative of CatholicCare Diocese of Broken Bay’s (CCDBB) Homelessness Services program.
Aulia escapes her domestic violence nightmare
When Aulia’s dream move from Indonesia to Australia with her new partner turned into a domestic violence nightmare, it led to a period of homelessness and relying on the generosity of friends to have somewhere safe to stay each night. After leaving her first partner and having to fight for residency when he cancelled her visa, Aulia met another man who also subjected her to domestic violence.
Marking Homelessness Week 2021 – supports for people across our Diocese experiencing homelessness
On any given night, 116,000 people in Australia are experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is not ‘rooflessness’. Only 7% of people without a home are sleeping rough.
CatholicCare on housing as a fundamental human need
Finding yourself homeless must rank as one of the most challenging things that could happen in life, but CatholicCare Diocese of Broken Bay’s Supported Temporary Accommodation (STA) program helps not only put an emergency roof over people’s heads, but assists them into more stable housing and a brighter future. “Being homeless is stressful,” says Sean MacKinnon, Practice Manager for CatholicCare’s housing and homelessness programs.
Reducing street sleeping – the Together Home program
During COVID-19 there were over 1,200 people street sleeping across NSW. As part of the Premiers promise to reduce street sleeping by half by 2025, a $36.1 million funding package was announced by the Department of Communities & Justice (DCJ) to fund community housing and support providers to make available 400 homes and support packages for clients who have a chronic history of experiencing homelessness across NSW.
CatholicCare supports for those in our Diocese facing homelessness
A person is homeless when they don’t have a fixed, regular or adequate night time residence. They may be sleeping in a shelter, couch surfing, sleeping in cars or on the streets.