‘A problem for all Australians’: housing crisis drives new partnerships to end homelessness – realestate.com.au

Dan McKenna has seen first-hand how Australians can create life-changing shelters for people experiencing homelessness when businesses and the community work together.

As CEO of the not-for-profit Housing All Australians (HAA), Mr McKenna and his team are committed to creating housing solutions for vulnerable people in need of shelter.

HAA works closely with businesses and the private sector looking to tackle Australia’s housing crisis, bringing together diverse stakeholders to make a difference to those who need it most.

“At Housing All Australians we want to ensure that those big systemic changes actually happen, and we do that by helping to provide a lot of crisis accommodation for people with high needs in our communities,” Mr McKenna said.

“We are a small team at HAA and a big part of how we work is involving the private sector and working with large organizations and large companies who want to contribute and help people in need, but don’t necessarily have the resources or time to do so.

“We are bringing together all parties to help refurbish existing buildings that may be vacant, and get people who may be sleeping in their cars into safer accommodation.”

HAA continues to search daily for temporary housing options in unused vacant buildings in Australia.

He said the conversation around homelessness in Australia was changing as more private companies became involved in tackling housing insecurity.

“In the last few months alone we have certainly seen a real shift in the attitude and tone of our government and policy makers, through to the private sector and the wider community really trying to understand the depth of the challenges we face when it comes to Australia’s housing crisis,” Mr McKenna said.

The struggle to find housing affects everyone from retirees to new home buyers; tenants and people on the brink of homelessness.

“We know that people in private rental properties are struggling to pay their rent, just like people trying to access the private housing market to begin with. It’s about educating society across the board about the struggle – it’s an issue for all Australians,” Mr McKenna said.

Every night, more than 122,000 Australians have no safe place to call home.

More than 122,000 Australians don’t have a safe place to call home on any given night. Image: supplied

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About 94% of them are hidden – couch surfing, sleeping in the car or moving from one temporary accommodation to another.

“We view the housing crisis and homelessness problem as a sector-wide problem,” Mr McKenna said.

That’s why Mr. McKenna and the HAA team are among the real estate leaders participating A night without a homea national fundraising challenge held in October and November to support the new A House for Everyone Foundation.

The foundation has brought together the entire property industry to end homelessness in Australia by raising awareness, raising funds and supporting long-term housing solutions.

All money raised this financial year will go to charities working to support people experiencing homelessness as a result of family and domestic violence.

Not only is the HAA team participating in this year’s fundraiser, but their Executive Director Robert Pradolin has also joined the foundation’s advisory committee to help determine where the money goes to make the biggest impact.

The majority of people experiencing homelessness couch surf, sleep in cars or move from one temporary accommodation to another. Image: supplied

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Mr McKenna said affordability is getting worse, making homelessness a bigger threat.

“There used to be a perception that people in regional areas were pushed further out when times were tough in the big cities, but that is absolutely no longer the case,” he says.

“There is a lack of service and a lack of opportunity in the regions, but in the cities the costs are incredibly unaffordable. It’s all down to the economic turbulence of the last few years, but now we’re seeing Brisbane and other major cities taking over Melbourne as highly unaffordable cities.

“It’s hard to pinpoint one area, but the statistics show some deteriorating zones in places you wouldn’t have expected.”