Open Family Australia

Wyndham Homelessness Project

The Wyndham Youth Homelessness Project is a community based campaign raising much needed awareness and funds to assist in the support of young people experiencing homelessness and unstable housing in the Wyndham region.

Funds raised will be utilised through the Whitelion Wyndham Housing Program and Street Outreach Program to provide short term accommodation, outreach and case management support, material aid assistance, training, education and employment pathways and transition planning for young people in the community.

The Issue:

• Homelessness alone is estimated to have almost quadrupled between 2001 and 2012 in Wyndham (source: https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/aboutwyndham/pubmedia/media/2015/march/shelter_from_the_housing_storm)
• It’s estimated that more than 400 people in Wyndham are homeless each and every day. Many of them are young people couch surfing or living on the streets (http://www.starweekly.com.au/uncategorized/1835718-services-united-for-wyndhams-homeless-youth/)
• One of the leading causes of homelessness is Family Violence. Reports of Family Violence have risen by 168% in Wyndham between 2009 and 2013 (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/west/reports-of-family-violence-in-wyndham-rising-with-2009-reports-made-to-police-in-201213/story-fngnvmj7-1226722121226)
• Latest Wyndham figures show that youth unemployment in the region is at 13.3% (http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/youth-unemployment-in-victoria-reaches-highest-rates-since-the-90s-20150311-141ce5.html)
• About 15.5% of Wyndham households with a mortgage are in mortgage stress, compared with 9.5% in the whole of Australia (http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/wyndhams-services-under-strain-20130630-2p5c7.html)

How you can help:

	DONATE Donate funds towards the Wyndham Youth Homelessness Project. Head to our Donate page to find out more. Please remember to add the reference of ‘Wyndham Youth Homelessness Project’ to your donation
	FUNDRAISE Arrange a fundraiser in your local business, school or group to raise funds towards the Wyndham Youth Homelessness Project. Please download the WHPY Fundraising Guidelines, Schools Fundraising Flyer and Promotional Flyer.
	SPREAD THE WORD Spread the word about the Wyndham Homelessness Project for Youth. Use the power of your voice to let everyone know about the issue of youth homelessness. Social media can be a great platform to share your message for change: Open Family/Whitelion:
	LEARN MORE Learn more about the issue of Youth Homelessness and the valuable work that Open Family/Whitelion does by exploring our online pages and resources.