Zachariah Matysek’s Post

Baptist Care Australia stands in solidarity with partner organisations, including the Community Housing Industry Association, Homelessness Australia, and the 'Everybody's Home' campaign, in expressing disappointment with the federal Government's response to the housing crisis. Despite widespread advocacy from the community services sector, the Budget fails to offer adequate solutions to address homelessness and housing affordability. 🔹 Insufficient Funding for Social Housing: The absence of new funding for social housing exacerbates the crisis, with initiatives merely reiterating previous commitments.  🔹 Increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance: While the 10% increase plus indexation is a step forward, concerns remain this will not be enough to ensure secure housing in the current rental market. 🔹 Concessional Finance for Community Housing Providers: Additional financing of up to 1.9 billion for community housing providers is welcomed, yet clarity on eligibility criteria is needed.  🔹 New Detail on Known Commitments: Scrutiny reveals that much of the funding represents existing commitments, with limited allocations for social housing infrastructure.  🔹 Doubling of Homelessness Funding: While doubling homelessness funding is positive, reallocating funds from the housing component to homelessness services raises concerns.  🔹 Urgency for Action: The housing crisis demands immediate and substantial action. Prioritising social housing is paramount to ensuring safe and affordable housing for all Australians. Baptist Care Australia urges the Government to swiftly address the housing crisis and prioritise the needs of individuals and families over investor interests. #HousingCrisis #FederalBudget2024 #AffordableHousing #BaptistCareAustralia #auspol #EverybodysHome

The Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue today welcomes record funding in the NSW budget for social and affordable housing, public transport infrastructure and much-needed road upgrades to drive momentum for Greater Western Sydney (GWS). With social housing wait lists and homelessness on the rise in GWS, Dialogue CEO, Adam Leto said the historic $6.6 billion commitment to build more social and affordable housing and tackle homelessness in NSW is a positive step in addressing this crisis in the region. “GWS is set to welcome up to 800,000 new residents in the next two decades, which means the big investments in social and affordable housing need to be made now - and the government has delivered,” Mr Leto said. “An $810 million investment for social housing repair and $527 million for front-line homelessness services is a huge boost, and we’re hopeful that a significant portion of this investment is focussed on Western Sydney, where some residents are waiting more than two and a half years for social housing and where homelessness is on the rise. “This record housing budget can be stretched even further if delivered in partnership with our community housing providers, the private sector and Federal Government.” See our full media release here ➡ https://shorturl.at/QDvRC

#Budget2024 is a step forward on non-market housing, financialization & encampments. There must be transparent, human rights-based oversight of this funding so that it makes measurable progress to end inadequate housing & homelessness. Statement ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eR9Xdr8b

Housing is an essential need and homelessness is a symptom of our housing affordability crisis – here in Los Angeles and across the country. While there is no single solution to meet the shelter needs of our nearly 42,000 unhoused neighbors, initiatives like the Mayor's emergency declaration, Executive Directive 1, and Inside Safe are significant and immediate steps above and beyond the "business as usual" approaches that have not moved the needle to eradicate homelessness in the city. Enterprise fully supports Mayor Bass’ approach to addressing the city’s alarming homelessness crisis as well as efforts to codify these initiatives. While I am pleased with Judge Kin’s ruling, our research also shows that there are 47,000 shovel-ready affordable homes ready to be built across California. The long-term solution to homelessness is to build more housing, and I encourage city, county, and state leaders to create the environment for these projects to move forward as part of a sustainable pathway for housing security for Angelenos and Californians alike. https://lnkd.in/dsMinKxQ #affordablehousing

Today we issued an urgent plea to Michael Gove to intervene and alleviate the escalating #homelessness crisis gripping our cities. As a national network of 27 cities across England and Wales, Key Cities’ members are currently tackling a combined council housing waiting list of 134,882 households. The combination of soaring private sector rents and an acute shortage of truly affordable housing has created a dire situation for residents, particularly the most vulnerable, leading to an unprecedented surge in homelessness in our cities. In the midst of a severe #housing shortage, it was disappointing the Spring Budget failed to address the national housing and homelessness crisis, which according to the Local Government Association is costing local authorities a staggering £1.74 billion annually in providing temporary accommodation – an 89% increase over the past decade. In light of this pressing situation, Key Cities is calling on the government to take immediate steps to stabilise the fractured housing market and institute long-term strategic solutions to homelessness including: ✔ Urgent localised financial support to address the short-term surge in homelessness following asylum seeker decisions, ensuring a roof over people's heads. ✔ Bringing forward the Renters Reform Bill and announcing a date for the repeal of Section 21 No Fault evictions to alleviate its role as a significant driver of homelessness. ✔ An immediate review of Housing Benefit Subsidy Rules to ensure local authorities can provide cost-effective temporary accommodation eligible for full housing benefit subsidy. ✔ Significant increase in Social Housing Grants to bring forward much needed new council and social housing that accounts for the rising costs of building homes in brownfield locations and the increased costs of construction materials. ✔ Changes to Selective Licensing Rules to allow schemes to run for longer periods, enabling more extended-term interventions for positive impacts. We firmly believe that these urgent actions will contribute to stabilising the housing market and lay the groundwork for long-term solutions to homelessness in cities across the UK. And we would welcome an opportunity for our members to speak with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities urgently to work together for the benefit of all our communities.

President Biden and HUD Secretary Fudge released their full fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request this past Monday. Their proposal presents a mixed potential impact on Connecticut. While some critical programs, like Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Rental Assistance see funding increases, others like Public Housing, Tribal housing, and Community Development Block Grants face cuts. Partnership for Strong Communities emphasizes the need for increased support to the Housing Choice Voucher program to prevent housing voucher losses and other critical funding to address the growing homelessness and affordable housing crisis. Engage your members of Congress by emailing or calling their offices to tell them about the importance of affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources to you, your family, your community, or your work, and urge them to prioritize affordable housing funding in FY25. You can use our take action page to find your elected officials! pschousing.org/take-action Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Tibwr5 #HereForHousing

If we want to close the housing gap for First Nations peoples in the future, we need to lay a strong foundation now. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples know what is best for their communities, which is why we consulted with more than 300 people and organisations to create the Our Place Roadmap and Action Plan. Based on this consultation, we have five outcome areas to focus on: - Creating First Nations housing outcomes that are guided by First Nations leadership and shared decision-making. - Growing a stronger sector that delivers these outcomes. - Making sure that housing and homelessness support services are fair, reliable, accessible, and culturally safe. - Delivering housing supply solutions that are more culturally responsive. - Increasing access to private market rental and home ownership opportunities. There’s a lot of work to be done. You can find out more about our plan here 👉🏾 https://lnkd.in/geWHBRXZ If you or someone you know needs housing help, you can call 13 QGOV (13 74 68) or contact your local Housing Service Centre during business hours 👉🏾 https://lnkd.in/giyr5fwg If you are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness, contact the Homeless Hotline for free on 1800 474 753 (24/7). Find out more about available products, services and supports here 👉🏾 www.qld.gov.au/housinghelp

Homelessness in the UK continues to be a pressing issue, and at Bailey Capital and Sheltered, we are committed to doing our part in addressing this crisis. As Head of Acquisitions, I work closely with housing providers across the country to ensure we are securing the right properties to provide safe and stable homes for vulnerable individuals—people who need support as they transition out of homelessness. But this isn't just about providing homes. It’s about creating lasting solutions. Supported housing is a critical tool in addressing homelessness, offering both security and the necessary support services for individuals to rebuild their lives. Investors who partner with us are not just achieving strong returns—they are contributing to a greater cause that has tangible social benefits. Through our strategic investments, we are expanding into regions with the highest need for supported housing, helping to reduce homelessness and ease the burden on local councils. This work requires a deep understanding of the housing market, regulatory frameworks, and the needs of both tenants and providers. By aligning financial goals with social outcomes, we create a win-win situation for investors and the communities they support. To learn more about how your investment can help tackle homelessness, please do message me.

For part three of our homelessness series we explain how local housing costs cause homelessness, why solutions to homelessness should be funded from a land value tax, and the merits of redistributing land values through a universal basic income. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eSY5fgCs

Like many, Q Shelter is eagerly anticipating next week’s State Budget.    Whilst some of the major budget measures have already been announced, Tuesday will be more comprehensive in outlining the State Government's plan for 2024-2025.   Right now, it is important to maintain momentum as we strive to address unmet housing needs and homelessness.  We need to ensure that current levels of investment, and reformist policy settings in Homes for Queenslanders are continued. Despite some contrary views, we believe a lot has changed in the housing and homelessness environment since the inaugural Queensland Housing Summit held in October 2022.   An entire policy community is now lending itself to solving the challenges. The housing ecosystem is incredibly multi-faceted. The solutions require varied sectors, all levels of government, and the community itself. The combination of the Queensland Housing Summit Outcomes Report, new Homes for Queenslanders plan, 'Our Place' First Nations housing action plan, the Queensland Youth Homelessness Plan, and 'Putting Queensland Kids First' is helping to change our trajectory.   But of course, as more time passes, and parts of the system continue to struggle, our focus turns to what else we can be doing both now and in the longer term to get closer to every Queenslander having a safe place to call home.   As such, our key focus areas ahead of next week's budget and the State Election include:   👉 Addressing the immediate challenges to achieve more homes, quickly    👉 Shifting the focus to preventing homelessness, as well as responding to the current crisis   👉 Supercharging the community housing sector for growth   👉 Further planning reforms that enable infill development opportunities and that unblock a pipeline of Affordable Housing, delivered in perpetuity    👉 Amplifying and embedding the voice of lived experience and expertise in decision making    👉 A better functioning private housing system.   We will be looking to unpack these areas over the coming weeks. And next week we will review the budget and the Opposition’s budget reply and provide guidance to the sector on how well those plans align with these crucial focus areas proposed by our stakeholders across many engagement activities. Our policy advisory committees are currently helping us sharpen our approach to homelessness responses and community housing in the lead up to the Queensland State Election.   Now is the time to pull together and remain focused. We need to maintain momentum and address any remaining gaps. You can read our pre-election Statement for 2024-2025 here. https://lnkd.in/gA7icxFz   #bettertogether #homematters #StateBudget #StateElection #Queensland #Housing and #homelessness