Council to Homeless Persons

Next Wednesday night in Geelong, we’ll be hearing from Josephine Taylor, Director Youth, Housing and South West at Meli.

Josephine says she’s noticed how “the face of homelessness is changing” as more people feel the pressures of the housing crisis.

She’ll be joining the conversation at the forum night, discussing how we can end homelessness in Geelong and beyond.

“We need community and all levels of government to be part of the conversation and the solutions and look beyond the assumptions that are made about homelessness,” says Josephine.

“Community is our eyes and ears to intervene early and try and prevent homelessness.”

Come along to hear more from Josephine, plus Violet Pearson and Elyssia Graham from Wathaurong Aboriginal Co Op, local representatives Christine Couzens MP, and Dr Sarah Mansfield MP, and lived experience advocate Jessie Moore.

Book your seat now!

🗓️Wednesday 10 June, 6:30pm
📍Wurriki Nyal Civic Precinct
👉 Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/walk-in-her-shoes-exhibition-and-forum-geelong-tickets-1987800077542

Walk in Her Shoes is heading to Geelong in less than two weeks!

Come along on Wednesday 10 June and catch the exhibition and community forum at Wurriki Nyal Civic Precinct, from 6:30pm

Book your spot here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/walk-in-her-shoes-exhibition-and-forum-geelong-tickets-1987800077542?aff=oddtdtcreator

On the night, we’ll hear a community question from Salma Gul of Cultura, who has deep reflections on the meaning of home, after arriving in Geelong as a refugee from Afghanistan.

“Home is not just a place to sleep; it is a place to exist with dignity,” says Salma.

“Yet for too many, the walls they seek are beyond reach, and the doors remain closed.”

You’ll also hear from:

● Dr Sarah Mansfield MP – Member for Western Victoria
● Christine Couzens MP – Member for Geelong
● Josephine Taylor - Meli
● Violet Pearson – Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative
● Elyssia Graham – Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Operative
● Jessie Moore - Lived experience advocate, Meli

Big thanks to City of Greater Geelong for supporting us to bring the event to the region.

Today marks the start of National Reconciliation Week 2026!

This year’s theme “All In” reminds of the fact that “reconciliation is not a spectator sport” – but something that all Australians can all actively work at.

Pushing for reconciliation is not the sole responsibility of First Nations people but rather something for all of us to strive for together.

At Council to Homeless Persons, we aim to embody this every day in our work.

We're committed to working alongside communities to address the disproportionate number of First Nations people who experience homelessness in Victoria, as a direct and ongoing result of colonisation.

Our vision for reconciliation is an Australia where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures are valued and respected, where self-determination is meaningfully achieved through Treaty, and where the structural forces that lead to homelessness are eliminated.

We’ll be deeply reflecting on this for the next seven days – and asking how we, and the specialist homelessness services sector, can commit even further to going “all in” on reconciliation each and every day.

See you in Darebin tonight?

There are still a few seats left for this evening’s community forum. Join us at Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre from 6:30pm.

Book your spot here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/walk-in-her-shoes-exhibition-and-forum-darebin-tickets-1987799947152?aff=oddtdtcreator

We’ll be hearing a community question from Gerry Lyons, President Preston Rotary.

As Gerry points out, any one of us could experience circumstances that lead to homelessness at some point in our lives. So, what kind of response do we want in place?

Come along tonight to hear more from the Darebin community, MPs, homelessness workers and people who know firsthand what it’s like to live through homelessness.

See you there!

Thanks again to Darebin City Council, Juno and Merri Outreach Support Service for helping us bring the event to the area.

“These conversations can be uncomfortable, but they need to be,” says Fr Stephen Monseigneur.

As Chair of WARM – Winter Accommodation Resource Movement – Fr Monseigneur will be helping to provide shelter to rough sleepers in Melbourne’s northern suburbs this winter.

We’ll be hearing more from him next week at the Darebin leg of hashtag , which explores the drivers and impacts of homelessness, particularly for women.

“When we create space to listen and understand, we empower women to seek help when they need it, and we empower the community to step in and support them."

Have you booked your spot at the forum yet? Come along to hear more about homelessness in Darebin and Victoria and how we can build a stronger response together.

📅 When: Monday 25 May, 6:30pm
📍 Where: Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre
👉 Register: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/walk-in-her-shoes-exhibition-and-forum-darebin-tickets-1987799947152

Big thanks to Darebin City Council, Juno and Merri Outreach Support Service (MOSS) for supporting us to bring the event to the area.

If you were reaching out for help, what kind of response would you hope to receive?

Every day, Eve Giles works with people seeking support at a vulnerable moment in their lives. The senior homelessness practitioner at Juno says structural barriers can make it tough to offer people the response they need.

"It is impossible to truly promote safety while working in the existing system.

“For the people we work with, feeling safe relies on the knowledge that when adversity strikes, they will not be forced into homelessness and isolated from supports but instead nurtured by governments who invest in accessible support services and robust public housing."

Eve is joining our Darebin community forum, shedding light on how we can build stronger homelessness responses in the area and across Victoria.

Come along on to hear more from Eve, alongside local MPs, service providers and people who have lived through homelessness.

📅 When: Monday 25 May, 6:30pm
📍 Where: Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre
👉 Register: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/walk-in-her-shoes-exhibition-and-forum-darebin-tickets-1987799947152

Big thanks to Darebin City Council and Merri Outreach Support Service (MOSS) for supporting us to bring the event to the area.

We’re very appreciative that, so soon after taking on her new portfolio, Victoria’s Minister for Youth the Hon. Luba Grigorovitch MP made it a priority to meet with us yesterday to discuss the need for a new Victorian Youth Homelessness Strategy.

Young people are needlessly suffering right now because our homelessness system was not built with young people in mind, and because all the other systems young people interact with - like health, education and justice - aren’t properly integrated with the homelessness system.

We see the costs of that in young people being turned away from hospital emergency departments when presenting in acute mental health crisis (or being seen and discharged back into homelessness). We see it in young people leaving family violence only to then be disbelieved or bounced between services. We see it in the lack of transitions when young people leave out-of-home care. And we see it in so many other ways.

Victoria can fix this by developing a youth strategy for the homelessness sector, just as other sectors like justice have their own youth frameworks. We call on the Government to make it an election commitment to fund and develop a Youth Homelessness Strategy in partnership with the sector and young lived experience experts, if elected.

Want to know more?

This AHURI Report is a great explainer of why Victoria needs a Youth Homelessness Strategy:https://www.ahuri.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021-11/AHURI-Prof-Services-Final-Report-Towards-a-Youth-Homelessness-Strategy-for-Victoria%20%282%29.pdf

’s Unsafe and Unseen Report is a powerful insight into the service gaps that are failing young people leaving family violence, highlighting exactly the kinds of harms a Strategy can fix: https://www.mcm.org.au/news/unsafe-unseen

And the Victorian Youth Homelessness Assembly’s Final Report outlines the key principles that should underlie a new Strategy: https://chp.org.au/publication/victorian-youth-homelessness-assembly-final-report/

Let’s make the 2026 Victorian Election the election where, as a state, we choose to put young people first.

We’re now at the halfway point of the journey. That’s 6 cities down. 6 more to come.

As we make our way around Victoria, we’re speaking with communities about what they’re seeing on the ground. About the mounting pressures they’re facing.

At each stop we’re gathering these community insights into a report we hand deliver to local Members of Parliament – ensuring community concerns are heard.

Today we were in Parliament meeting with representatives from different ends of the state – Shepparton and Mornington Peninsula.

Two very different regions – but both with rising rates of people seeking homelessness support. Both with stretched services that are doing the best they can. Both crying out for more prevention efforts, crisis support and social housing.

At the halfway point of the journey, our efforts are getting noticed.

We saw some great news in the budget last week – which recognised the need for more investment in assertive outreach. This has come through loud and clear as a priority for the communities we’ve visited.

But we want to build on this momentum.

The next 6 stops of the journey are a chance to keep having these community conversations and getting the message through to the halls of power.

Thanks to everyone we met with today. From Shepparton: James Aloni - The Salvation Army Australia, Kim O’Keeffe MP, Celia Adams - Beyond Housing, Wendy Lovell MP

And Mornington: Georgia Hourn - Western Port Community Support, Acting Mayor Cr Paul Pingiaro, Cr Max Patton, Petrina Dodds Buckley - Mornington Peninsula Shire, Ben Smith - Mornington Community Support Centre, Paul Mercurio MP, Tom McIntosh MP, Chris Crewther MP - Member for Mornington, Renee Heath MP, Anthony Marsh MP.

If you’re worried someone you know might be experiencing family violence, it can be hard to know what to do.

But you don’t need to be an expert. By just asking, listening and believing, you can make a huge difference.

Today is Are You Safe At Home Day? Safe and Equal’s initiative to encourage us to start a conversation with a friend or loved one.

Visit www.areyousafeathome.org.au to learn more about how you can help. Support resources are available in different languages.