News

25^th February 2013     THE PUBLIC SERVICE UNION CLAIMS THE STATE GOVERNMENT PLANS TO PRIVATISE MORE SERVICES
by Robyn Ironside - The Courier Mail

THE Newman Government plans to use the release of Peter Costello's Commission of Audit recommendations to justify the privatisation of services. The public service union claims these would include public housing, prisons and respite care. more

25^th February 2013     STATE- WIDE HOUSING ESTABLISHMENT FUND FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (15 TO 25) WHO ARE AT RISK OF OR EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS WHO ALSO IDENTIFY AS SAME SEX ATTRACTED, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX
by Family Access Network

Family Access Network in Box Hill manage the state- wide Housing Establishment Fund for young people (15 to 25) who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness who also identify as Same Sex Attracted, Transgender and Intersex. It is available to cover the cost of flexible accommodation for a young person who is in a housing crisis and are working towards securing suitable, sustainable and safe housing. more

25^th February 2013     GOOGLE GRANTS FOR FREE ADVERTISING AVAILABLE FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS
by Google

Google Grants is the non-profit edition of AdWords, Google's online advertising tool. Google Grants empowers non-profit organisations, through USD 10,000 per month in in-kind AdWords™ advertising, to promote their missions and initiatives on Google.com. more

25^th February 2013     UPCOMING HAIR AND BEAUTY ‘CAREER START’ PROGRAM
by Janice Kennedy - Access Program Coordinator - Melbourne, Eastern & Western Victoria

Starting on 25th February 2013 this 8 week full time government funded program (Course Code N14937) consists of two consecutive and compulsory phases (study and supported job search). more

24^th February 2013     LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT HIGHEST IN TWO DECADES
by Natasha Bita - Adelaide Now

LONG-TERM unemployment has hit a two-decade high, after dole numbers leapt 20 per cent in 12 months. The alarming increase includes 73,000 single parents who failed to find work when the Gillard Government kicked them off their parenting pensions on January 1. more

24^th February 2013     SALVOS LASH OUT AT 'TOUGH ON CRIME' POLICIES
by Shane Green - The Age

THE Salvation Army has strongly criticised the Baillieu government for its ''tough'' law and order policies, saying it is extremely concerned about the impact they are having on vulnerable people's lives. more

23^rd February 2013     PUSH TO FULL-TIME WORK PUNISHES SINGLE MUMS
by Patricia Karvelas - The Australian

SINGLE mothers who have been forced on to Newstart and accept a full-time minimum wage job are losing so much money in government benefits they are effectively earning $7.42 an hour for the transitional hours to full-time work. more

21^st February 2013     HOMELESS MEN SUFFER WORSE STRESS THAN RETURNED SERVICEMEN - STUDY
by Pro Bono News

Homeless men experience higher levels of post-traumatic stress disorder than the mainstream male population, including returned servicemen, a new study has found. more

21^st February 2013     AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR CANBERRA WOMEN
by Anna Morozow - ABC News

The YWCA in Canberra has opened a new affordable housing project for women. more

20^th February 2013     THE HOMELESS FEEL THE HEAT MORE ON THE STREETS
by Nick Fogarty - ABC News

After a series of deadly heatwaves in Europe and Australia during the 2000's, Western Australia's Department of Health released an official heatwave policy in 2010. A heatwave alert is triggered when there is a forecast of 40 degrees or above for three or more consecutive days. The policy is designed to alert agencies which are tasked with protecting vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and the homeless. more

20^th February 2013     DELVING INTO NOTIONS OF HOMELESSNESS
by Sally Warhaft - 774 ABC Radio

Sally Warhaft presents this Conversation Hour with Martin Hughes co-host as they delve into notions of home and homelessness, and ways of influencing people by inspiring with delight. more

20^th February 2013     CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS FOR HOUSINGWORKS SPECIAL EDITION: THE ROLE OF TENANTS IN SOCIAL HOUSING. DEADLINE 20TH FEBRUARY 2013!
by The Australasian Housing Institute

The Australasian Housing Institute are calling for contributions for the March 2013 edition of their quarterly magazine HousingWORKS. The main topic for the March edition of the magazine will be the role of tenants in social housing. more

19^th February 2013     AT LAST, A ROOF OVER HOMELESS HEADS
by STEPHANIE ZEVENBERGEN - Hume Weekly

HOMELESS youth in Broadmeadows are one step closer to getting a roof over their head, with construction starting on a $10.4 million Youth Foyer last week. more

18^th February 2013     HOW TO TURN A HOUSING CRISIS INTO A HOMELESS CATASTROPHY
by Polly Toynbee - The Guardian (UK)

Westminster expects 5,000 families to be evicted by housing benefit cuts – and it's happening almost everywhere. more

18^th February 2013     COALITION ANNOUNCES GRANTS TO ADDRESS KOORI FAMILY VIOLENCE
by The Victorian Minister for Crime Prevention

The Victorian Coalition Government has awarded more than $2.1 million in funding for local projects to address violence against women and their children in Koori communities. more

17^th February 2013     ONE-THIRD OF AUSTRALIAN HOUSEHOLDS HAVE NO SAVINGS
by Brittany Stack and Valerina Changarathil - Adelaide Now

ONE in three Australian households is living pay cheque to pay cheque and many would not be able to cover a major emergency, a survey into Australia's financial health has revealed. more

13^th February 2013     JUDGE BLASTS 'RIDICULOUS' CUT TO LEGAL AID SUPPORT
by Andrea Petrie - The Age

MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR cuts to Legal Aid have begun to imperil the administration of justice - leading a Supreme Court judge to slam the changes and consider delaying a serious criminal trial. more

13^th February 2013     JOURNEYS HOME: LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING HOUSING STABILITY, FINDINGS FROM WAVE 1 AND 2.
by The Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research

The Minister for Housing and Homelessness Mark Butler has released a second set of results from Journeys Home: Longitudinal Study of Factors Affecting Housing Stability, a study that follows the lives of more than 1,600 Australian income support recipients who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. more

12^th February 2013     HALF-MEASURES KEEP HOMELESS ON OUTER
by Stephanie Zevenbergen - Hume Weekly

THERE is no end in sight for Hume's homeless population following a damning Auditor-General report that says measures to addresses homelessness across the state have not been effective. more

12^th February 2013     HOMELESS FIND A PLACE TO CALL HOME, ON TWITTER
by Vince Chadwick - The Age

IT'S the home that Twitter built. Joe Brown, 29, and his partner Ben Stevens, 23, were homeless when they came to Melbourne in January from Castlemaine. But after one month tweeting from the Homeless In Melbourne Twitter account the men, with their two cats in tow, had navigated crisis centres, raised the bond money for a two-bedroom unit in Reservoir, and furnished it with contributions from strangers. more