National Homelessness Week 2025
- marketing8445
- Aug 8
- 3 min read
Homelessness Action Now
A home gives people the chance to live safely, grow, and thrive.
It’s where children feel secure, where families stay connected, and where people can rest, recover, and rebuild. A home provides the stability to go to school, find work, care for loved ones, and participate in community. It’s the foundation for health, dignity, and opportunity.
But right now, too many people in Australia are being denied this basic human right.
More than 122,000 people are experiencing homelessness across the country — and the numbers are rising. From overcrowded housing to people sleeping rough, the crisis is visible in every state and territory. Beneath these statistics lies a system strained by a lack of affordable homes, stagnant wages, and inadequate support that fails people long before they reach crisis point.
Right where we live and work in Blacktown, 1,601 people are homeless, with 37.4% of them being children and young people under the age of 19.
That’s why we’re standing with our community this week at the High Street Youth Service’s Homelessness Week event, raising awareness, sharing stories, and advocating for change. National Homelessness Week is a moment to amplify what frontline services and communities already know: that homelessness is preventable, and that the solutions are within reach.
We need investment in social and affordable housing. We need culturally responsive, community-led solutions. We need systems resourced to support people early — before crisis hits. These solutions would enable children to grow up with stability, not uncertainty. They would allow families to stay together, rather than be torn apart by crisis — and more people contributing to their communities, connected to culture, Country, and opportunity.
Because when we invest in housing, we’re not just building homes — we’re building futures.
We were fortunate to begin this week by attending the launch of Homelessness Week: Through a First Nations Lens at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence — an event that set the tone for the week with truth, courage, and vision.
Presented by Homelessness Australia, Homelessness NSW, and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association (NATSIHA) the event brought together powerful First Nations voices, advocates, and policy leaders.
We heard stories that were raw, real, and deeply rooted in lived experience. First Nations leaders spoke not just about homelessness — but about the systems that continue to disempower, and the strength of communities who keep showing up with solutions.
We heard that 1 in 3 Aboriginal children are homeless. That families escaping violence are being pushed into legal homelessness. That young boys — just 15 years old — are being turned away from shelters, seen as risks rather than children in need of safety.
We heard about people being held in remand simply because they have no home to return to. About families forced off Country to access basic services. About the heartbreak of being disconnected from land, culture, and kin.
But we also heard something else: strength.
Speakers like Tahlia Rose and Zachariah Matysek reminded us that First Nations communities have been offering solutions for generations. What’s missing is the authorising environment — the power and resources to deliver.
NATSIHA is leading the development of a dedicated First Nations Housing Policy Partnership Plan, designed to reflect the diversity of housing needs across communities. The plan seeks to cover all tenure types, strengthen Indigenous housing providers, and embed sustainability, economic prosperity, and cultural connection at its core.
Homelessness Australia and Homelessness NSW continue to advocate for systems change — calling for investment in social and affordable housing, culturally responsive services, and community-led responses that reflect the lived realities of First Nations families.
Josh Burns MP, Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness who joined online, acknowledged the significant gaps in current housing policy and the need to ensure Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOS) are not falling through the cracks. He recognised the importance of co-design and the need for a First Nations-led housing plan — while noting that there is still a long way to go to get the resources to where they’re needed most.
At Marist180, we believe that housing is more than shelter — it’s the foundation for safety, stability, and belonging. It’s where families grow, where culture is nurtured, and where futures are built.
Every child, young person or adult deserves a safe place to call home. Every family deserves the dignity of housing. And every community deserves the power to shape its own future.
We are committed to standing together — in advocacy, in action, and in hope.
