Homelessness can affect anyone.
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Circumstances can change quickly. Health or other circumstances beyond your control can leave you faced with the inability to work and pay your bills, putting you out on the street.
Kim Wiesner from the Bucketts Way Neighbourhood Group (BWNG) said homelessness is not just an issue around Australia, it’s happening in Gloucester.
She explained how there are people within the community who struggle to find a place to sleep every night.
Homelessness Week, August 6-12, is an annual week coordinated by Homelessness Australia to raise awareness of people experiencing homelessness, the issues they face and the action needed to achieve enduring solutions.
This year’s theme is “Ending homelessness together’’.
On Census night 2011, there were 105,237 people experiencing homelessness in Australia, with 45,813 or 44 per cent of these being women, while 27 per cent are children under the age of 18.
Kim explained how domestic violence is one of the big factors in homelessness.
The BWNG, together with Samaritans, Family Community Services, Manning Support Services and Manning Great Lakes Youth Homelessness Service form the homelessness services for the MidCoast Council region and on Tuesday, August 7, they will be in Gloucester.
From 11am until 2pm, they will set up a booth outside Lovey’s IGA on Church Street where they will be providing information and collecting non-perishable food donations.
Homelessness Week history
Homelessness Week came about from various churches and missions running winter vigils to remember people who had died on the streets. These vigils were normally held in August as it is the coldest time of the year and when most people were likely to be overcome by the elements. Over the years, more churches became involved and in 2007 Homelessness Australia (then the Australian Federations of Housing Organisations AFHO) began coordinating it as a national awareness week.
Information sourced from the Homelessness Australia website.