youth homelessness Archives - The Burdekin Association

Vote for Burdekin’s Local Heroes

August 23, 2024August 22, 2024

Toby Williams and Sian Gordon at Burdekin finalists in the Westfield Local Heroes

We are so excited to report that Burdekin has two employees that have been nominated as finalists in the Westfield Local Heroes – Toby Williams for Westfield Warringah Mall and Sian Gordon for Westfield Hornsby.

The successful hero for each of the 42 Westfield destinations is awarded a $20,000 grant for their organisation, and each finalist receives a $5,000 grant for their organisation or group.

Now in its seventh year, the Westfield Local Heroes program will have contributed $8.6 million to more than 860 successful Local Hero organisations since it began.

About Westfield Local Heroes

Westfield Local Heroes is a recognition and awards program that shines the spotlight on individuals in Australia who make a positive impact to their local community or environment.

About Burdekin’s Westfield Local Heroes

Sian Gordon is an integral part of Burdekin’s Youth Housing program that’s delivered across Hornsby and the Northern Beaches, which supports homeless young people with accommodation and case management. Over the last five years at Burdekin, Sian has demonstrated dedication, commitment, and deep care for the young people that she supports in her roles as a Case Manager and Team Leader.

Vote for Sian

Caring, Committed, Determined

Sian goes above and beyond in her role, as she seeks out support from the local community for donations and goods that go towards providing a welcome and safe environment for the young people to live in. Sian draws out the best in her clients as she works alongside them, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary life skills to transition into more steady accommodation when they are ready to leave the program. The wrap-around supports that Sian provides include linking young people to education, teaching living skills and budgeting, advocacy and lastly, supporting reconciliation with family, where appropriate.

Sian is a committed and passionate community leader who is a true role model for her young people and team. This is reflected in her genuine care for everyone that she works with.

Voting closes at 6pm on Monday September 9.

Toby Williams

Toby is a member of our Risk and Safety Compliance team and has been with Burdekin for the past 15 months. He works to ensure organisational compliance and the safety of the many children and young people we care for, and our dedicated staff who deliver that care.

Vote for Toby

Burdekin assists Toby to support his local Northern Beaches’ community in other ways as Burdekin understands that young people who are connected and maintain an interest in their local community have a protective factor in their lives.

Burdekin encourages and supports Toby in his volunteer endeavours in his role as President of the Manly Warringah Football Referees Association and President of Swimming Metro North East, which is the official swimming district for the Northern Beaches and North Shore areas.

What would it mean to Toby to win the $20,000 grant?

“It would mean the difference between children and young people having access to all that their peers do, and not missing out. Burdekin will use these funds to ensure that young people and their families can purchase the tools they need for their apprenticeship, buy a formal dress and tickets, purchase some work clothes for an interview, and to ensure that they don’t become homeless. Burdekin has also indicated that it will allocate 15 per cent of the funds to support young local referees and 15 per cent to support young local swimmers.”

Toby Williams, Risk and Compliance Office at Burdekin

At times, children and young people are forced to drop out of sport, carnivals or opportunities due to financial constraint. We know sport helps our mental health, as well as providing a positive connection to local communities, as well as adult mentors. The money from the grant will be used to establish a fund for children and young people that’s aligned with the Manly Warringah Football Referees Association and Swimming Metro North East, ensuring every child and young person has the same access to opportunities as their peers.

Please remember to vote for Sian and Toby in the Westfield Local Heroes award program before 6pm on Monday September 9, 2024.

Why giving back matters

August 14, 2024

When we lift others up it's good for us too!

If you’re reading this, you are most likely someone who already knows why giving back matters and you most likely share our concern about social issues, including youth homelessness, and may want to do something about it. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and it is difficult to know where to start.

Many, rightly believe, that it is our moral obligation to look after those less fortunate in society. But, did you know that people who give back tend to be happier, healthier and live longer?

“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”
Chinese proverb

The power of giving back

Volunteering your time, energy, attention, expertise and financial assistance doesn’t just make the world a better place, it also makes you better as a person. You could be the most successful person in the world, but what does it mean if we don’t use it to make a difference and share with others? True fulfillment in life comes from lifting each other up.

In times of uncertainty, nurturing empathy and kindness buffer us from the various negative narratives around us. In fact, being kind and altruistic can offer a solution to many of the problems we face as a society.

Kindness: The quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. From a survival point of view, kindness makes sense – we have evolved to understand that kindness and cooperation means inclusion and safety.

Empathy: Humans are hard-wired for empathy. It helps us to connect with and respond to our babies, but it is also a skill that develops over time and is why, perhaps, some people are more empathetic than others.

Kindness and empathy are good for us as a species and because of this, we intuitively know that our happiness depends on the happiness of others.

Altruism: True altruism is the unselfish concern for other people, doing things out of a desire to help, not because you feel obligated to out of duty, loyalty, or religious reasons. Altruism is about reducing another’s suffering, without expecting anything in return.

Kindness is contagious: If you dropped a single pebble into still water, the water would ripple outward in widening circles. Kindness contagion is much like the ripple effect of the pebble and the water. Even just witnessing an act of kindness motivates us towards acts of kindness ourselves.

The ripple effect of doing good. — The ripple effect of giving.

Health benefits of giving

‘Helpers high’ refers to the feel-good chemicals our body releases when we do something good – release endorphins (oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine) – that make us feel good and therefore are ways of supporting our own wellbeing too.

As mentioned, we have evolved to understand that acts of kindness and altruism improve wellbeing and foster social connections – making us both personally happier and stronger and more resilient as a community. Doing good, makes you feel good, and because it is contagious, we do more good.

Wellbeing: Small and large acts of kindness help reduce stress, depression, anxiety and loneliness and increases our levels of life satisfaction, happiness and self-esteem, diverting our attention away from ourselves, giving us a sense of purpose. We can have all the success in the world, but if we don’t share the success with others – what does it matter? We need a community to belong to – something that is bigger than us.

Physical health: Giving back may also improve our physical health by lowering blood pressure, strengthening our immune system, staving off disease and lowering cortisol levels. Ultimately, helping us to live longer, happier, healthier lives!

Sometimes we will never know the impact we have had on someone’s life – so, do it anyway.

Do you ever experience helpers high? — You might never know how much your support means to someone.

Ways to give back:

Give time: get hands-on, we are always looking for volunteers to help us make a difference.
Expertise: do you have a special skill or service that could help us? Get in touch.
Partner: would you like to partner with us to solve youth homelessness?
Be a carer: Burdekin foster carers, care for children and young people in a variety of settings.
Fundraising: make a difference by fundraising for youth.
Donate: your donations make our work possible.

Further reading

Launch of Homelessness Week

August 9, 2024

It’s Homelessness Week 2024.

The Hon. Clare O’Neill launched Homelessness Week this week for Homelessness Australia, the national peak body for homelessness in Australia. She emphasised the significance of her new role, as Federal Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness.

“Housing and homelessness are critical areas. We face a housing supply crisis, a housing affordability crisis, and a housing construction crisis. These issues are not just about infrastructure; housing is the foundation of life for every citizen. The current crisis affects the legitimate expectations of young people and highlights the disparities in wealth distribution. Addressing homelessness will be a pivotal part of my work in this portfolio.”

Clare O’Neill, Federal Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness

Clare O’Neill, Federal Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness

“The current crisis we are experiencing in this country is feeding into the homeless in this country. There is no distinction between the big problems we are having in the commercial market and the people experiencing homelessness.”

“All of the workers that I have spoken to about this issue, they have advised that they are seeing people coming into homelessness services who would never have come through the door 10 years ago.”

Anne Hollonds, Australian National Children’s Commissioner was also a keynote speaker at the launch of Homelessness Week.

“We’ve all enjoyed seeing Australia’s medal tally in the 2024 Olympics. But, on child wellbeing, we rank a low 32nd out of 38 OECD countries on child wellbeing, right near the bottom. And, that’s just one indicator that we’re failing on when it comes to children’s policy.”

“We saw last week, the Productivity Commission saying that we’re going backwards on key indicators for children. We saw the Mission Australia Survey last week showing that not only are there high rates of homelessness, but two out of five young people had missed out on the basics such as housing, food, clothing, school and transport. The research today shows extraordinary numbers of children homeless, including unaccompanied children seeking help, but not getting the help that they need.”

Anne Hollonds, Australian National Children’s Commissioner

“Poverty is a key part of this story, along with other complex needs, like mental health issues, disabilities, learning problems and of course child maltreatment. Stable housing is a core anchor point from which everything to meet the needs of children hangs. As National Children’s Commissioner, my focus is on the human rights of children and young people. Housing is a human right of children under Article 27 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, which Australia signed in 1990.”

“When asked about what ‘home’ means, children will often talk about the concept of home – stability and security of their most important relationships, especially in the family. This is where safe and stable housing comes in. It is the foundation for the conditions that enable the child to get their needs met, especially through family relationships and through the local community that they’re living in – friends and teachers at school, and community activities, like sport. In contrast, the transient and marginalised life that homelessness brings, serves to rob the child not only of a roof over their head, the stable relationships that they need for their health, learning development and wellbeing.”

“Domestic family and sexual violence (DFSV) plays a key role in homelessness. As we now understand, it is much more prevalent than we first thought. Unfortunately, children as victim survivors of DFSV have largely been overlooked in child policy, despite the fact that the groundbreaking Australian Child Maltreatment Study showed that DFSV is the most common form of child maltreatment and it usually goes together with other forms of child maltreatment. Over 62 per cent of Australians have suffered one or more form of child maltreatment, much more than we thought.”

Discover more about Homelessness Week here.

And, read our most recent blog post on Homelessness Week here.

Homelessness Week

August 2, 2024

It’s Homelessness Week – August 5 – 11, 2024. It’s a crucial platform for raising awareness about the causes and impacts of homelessness. The statistics surrounding homelessness in Australia highlight the urgent need for both community action and government intervention.

The stark reality of homelessness in Australia

According to the 2021 ABS Census, on any given night, 122,494 people in Australia are experiencing homelessness. This includes a particularly vulnerable demographic – children. One in seven people experiencing homelessness are children under 12, and 23 per cent of those without stable housing are children and young people between the ages of 12 and 24.

Homelessness disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, with one in five people experiencing homelessness belonging to these groups. There is a real need for culturally sensitive approaches and solutions.

Overwhelmed Homelessness Services

The demand for homelessness services is overwhelming and outstrips the available resources. In the 2022-23 financial year, homelessness services assisted 273,600 people. But, an additional 108,000 people sought help but could not be assisted due to shortages in staff, accommodation, or other services. This means that every day, approximately 295 people are turned away from the help they desperately need. Alarmingly, 80 per cent of those turned away are women and children, many fleeing domestic and family violence.

The primary causes of homelessness

Understanding the root causes of homelessness is essential for developing effective solutions. The main reason people seek homelessness support is due to issues with housing or finances, with 65 per cent of those needing support citing these problems. This statistic reveals the critical need for adequate income support and affordable housing as fundamental solutions to prevent homelessness.

Another significant factor is family violence or other forms of violence and abuse, with 24 per cent of individuals needing support giving these as their reasons. There is a real need for comprehensive violence prevention strategies and support systems for survivors.

The Path Forward

To significantly reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness, it’s suggested that both community efforts and government policies are aligned and strong. Here are key areas where action is needed:

Increase Income Support and Affordable Housing:
- Ensuring that people can afford rent is fundamental to preventing homelessness. This requires the government to increase income support and invest in more social housing. Affordable housing provides stability and security, which are crucial for individuals and families to thrive.
Invest in Violence Prevention and Support:
- Given the high percentage of homelessness due to violence, it’s recommended that the government invest in violence prevention programs. Additionally, providing support and housing for survivors of violence is essential to help them rebuild their lives free from fear and instability.
Strengthening Homelessness Services:
- With so many people being turned away each day from specialist homelessness service providers, it is clear that homelessness services need more resources. This includes increasing funding for staff, accommodation, and comprehensive support services. By strengthening these services, we can better meet the needs of those seeking help.
Community Engagement and Advocacy:
- We can advocate for change. By raising awareness and advocating our local representatives to prioritise homelessness, we can contribute to meaningful progress in solving homelessness. Supporting local organisations that provide essential services to homeless individuals, like Burdekin, can also make a significant difference.

Find out more about Homelessness Week here. And discover how Burdekin advocates for young homeless people here.

Host a BBQ Block Party for Burdekin

June 18, 2024

We love nothing better than a good Aussie barbecue and the timeless sausage sanga! Unless, of course, you are vegetarian or vegan, in which case you’ll enjoy vegan sausages.

Why not make it a block party and invite the whole neighbourhood, make it a celebration of food, culture and community? Even bring your own twist to the classic snag and celebrate diversity and culinary traditions in your community!

A block party BBQ is great way to bring people together, while raising money and awareness for a cause that is close to your heart – such as youth homelessness.

Planning your BBQ

Planning a community Block party BBQ takes a little planning, but not much! Consider hosting your event at a particular time of year:

Your very own birthday fundraiser
A summer BBQ
A public holiday BBQ
Grand Final Day
Harmony Day
Youth Homelessness Matters Day
Welcoming new neighbours to the area
Another day of significance for you
A Bunnings Sausage Sizzle – a 25 year institution! Bunnings in the community.

Where should you host your BBQ?

Park, beach, street – public spaces, just check with your local council to see if you need a permit!
Your local farmers market, school fete or sports club event.

Spread the word

You might have access to a WhatsApp group for people in your community – let them know about your event! Spread the word via friends, family, neighbours and ask any groups that you are involved with – school, a sports club, a community club, RSL and your employer to share your fundraiser – they might even support the event in some way.

Share the event on your socials, ask your local radio and/or paper for a free advertisement slot. If you use social media, please tag us so we are aware of your posts and can share them if appropriate.

Woolies and Coles grants

Your local Woolworths and Coles stores offer community grants and the money could help you to buy everything you need for your BBQ! Coles Community Support Applications and Woolworths Community Contributions could be of help.

Go extra

If you love organising these sorts of events, you might like to contact any businesses in your area to help and people generally do like to help if they know that it’s for a good cause, especially if they can get a shout out for it too! You could organise a raffle at the BBQ too.

Employer involvement

Don’t be afraid to ask your employer to assist – most organisations today do want to be involved in corporate fundraising for a number of reasons:

Good publicity
Morale boosting
Social responsibility

Corporate fundraising is a great way for organisations to show that they are committed to the community and to causes that matter – some employers will eagerly back you and some will even seek to get involved themselves and pay for volunteer days. Ask your employer about payroll giving and dollar matching!