The Give Where You Live Foundation is this week reinforcing its commitment to addressing one of the Geelong region’s most significant social challenges, as National Homelessness Week shines a spotlight on the urgent need for action in our community.
More than 1,600 people experienced homelessness across Greater Geelong in 2023-24, highlighting the growing need for coordinated community action. As homelessness remains one of the Foundation’s three key focus areas it continues to invest in initiatives that provide support today while working to prevent homelessness in the future.
Over the past year, 7,138 Community Choice vouchers have been redeemed by people experiencing homelessness, helping individuals and families access essential everyday items during times of crisis. Alongside this practical support, the Foundation provides grant funding to local organisations delivering frontline services across the region.
This year, the Foundation has also taken an important step forward through its Social Innovation Lab, bringing together people with lived experience of homelessness, frontline service providers, government representatives, researchers and community leaders to explore new ways of addressing the underlying causes of homelessness.
Guided by insights from the Foundation’s Home Truths research, undertaken in partnership with Deakin University, the Lab created space for collaboration, shared learning and the development of innovative solutions with the potential to create lasting change.
One participant reflected on the experience, saying: “This is an opportunity to learn how innovation can be applied to social issues in a way that genuinely shapes people’s lives.”
As a direct outcome of the Social Innovation Lab, the Give Where You Live Foundation has committed $150,000 through its Innovation Fund to support two projects over the next 12 months.
Meli’s Geelong Project will receive $50,000 to trial an early intervention approach aimed at preventing youth homelessness, while The Power in You Project will receive $100,000 to support people leaving custody to secure stable housing, strengthen community connections and reduce the risk of homelessness and reoffending.
Both initiatives will be independently supported and evaluated, building evidence about what works and identifying approaches that could be expanded to strengthen the region’s response to homelessness.
Give Where You Live Foundation CEO Zac Lewis said addressing homelessness requires more than responding to immediate need.
“Supporting people experiencing homelessness today is essential, but if we want to reduce homelessness in the future we also need to invest in new ideas that address the causes of the issue,” Mr Lewis said.
“Our Social Innovation Lab brings together people with different experiences and expertise to better understand the challenge and design solutions that wouldn’t be possible working in isolation.
“Through the Innovation Fund, we’re giving promising ideas the opportunity to be tested, evaluated and, if successful, scaled to create lasting impact for our community.
“We can’t solve homelessness on our own. Real progress depends on collaboration, evidence and a willingness to try new approaches that can create better outcomes for people across our region.”
The Social Innovation Lab forms a key part of the Foundation’s commitment to creating a fairer, more equitable community by combining community generosity with innovation, collaboration and evidence to address complex social challenges.