Mission Australia and Westpac tackle family homelessness together

Mission Australia and the Westpac Group yesterday have launched a long-term partnership aimed at addressing family homelessness over the next decade.

Families make up a quarter of all homeless people (105,000 homeless Australians on any one night) and up to 80 per cent of homeless families seeking crisis accommodation are turned away from government-funded homeless services.

The partnership was officially launched yesterday at the Mission Australia Centre in Sydney’s Surry Hills, with Mission Australia Chairman Ewen Crouch and CEO Toby Hall; Westpac’s Peter Hanlon, Group Executive, People and Transformation, and the Hon Tanya Plibersek, Federal Minister for Social Inclusion and Human Services in attendance.

They were joined by representatives from Housing NSW, MA Housing as well as Mission Australia and Westpac staff.

In the first stage of the partnership Westpac has agreed to provide $1 million over three years to Mission Australia for specific projects to address homelessness. Westpac and Mission Australia will also work together to launch a social innovation fund, targeting capital funds to be used to develop more affordable housing nationally.

Mr Hall, said the partnership was unique in Australia and displayed a shared commitment between the two organisations to tackling one of the nation’s major social problems.

He said addressing family homelessness required a three-pronged approach - prevention strategies to “turn off the tap” to homelessness; the provision of crisis accommodation services like the Mission Australia Centre to give longer-term support and offer breathing space, and the delivering of more affordable housing .

“Australia’s lack of affordable housing is one of the most significant factors influencing family homelessness,” Mr Hall said.

“Westpac’s support for this partnership will make a huge difference to our work and in the lives of countless homeless families – and those at risk of homelessness – now and in the years to come.”

At yesterday’s launch Mr Hanlon said Westpac was proud of its century-long association with Mission Australia and was committed to addressing homelessness, which is “not just about shelter – it’s also about self-esteem and inclusion”.

Above photo from left: Ewen Crouch, Mission Australia Chairman; The Hon Tanya Plibersek, Federal Minister for Social Inclusion and Human Services; Toby Hall, Mission Australia CEO; and Peter Hanlon, Group Executive, People and Transformation, Westpac.