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What to do if you are experiencing or at risk of homelessness
Contact The Salvation Army, Homelessness East: Opening Doors
If you are sleeping rough, experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless, contact The Salvation Army, Homelessness East: Opening Doors. The team can assist with intake and assessment for crisis accommodation and rent, support and referral services.
- call (03) 9890 7144 (Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm)
- call 1800 825 955 (free to call at anytime, day or night)
- Visit the Salvation Army website
- Visit in person at Level 1, 353 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading.
Other support services
| Organisation name | Services offered | Phone number | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frontyard Youth Services | Crisis accommodation and support services for young people aged 12 to 24. | ||
| Ngwala Willumbong | Crisis and short-term accommodation for Indigenous men, women, families and young people. | ||
| Uniting | Help to access, establish and maintain long-term housing. | 1800 668 426 | Uniting website |
| Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG) | Independent advice, information and practical housing support for people over 50. | ||
| HousingVic | Help with renting (bond loan), housing options and social housing application. |
Homelessness Food and Support Guide
Download our Homelessness Food and Support Guide to support services in Boroondara, with information on essential support services, including:
- crisis support
- housing and homelessness assistance
- emergency food relief and material aid
- shower access
- domestic and family violence help
- assistance for rooming house residents.
Hard copies are available at all Boroondara libraries and at our customer service counter at 8 Inglesby Road, Camberwell, open from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5:15 pm.
Download Food and Support Guide
What to do if you see someone experiencing homelessness
In Boroondara, people experiencing homelessness might sleep on streets, in tents, parks and other public spaces. This is called sleeping rough.
If you are concerned about a person or people sleeping rough, please collect this information:
- Location and details of the person and their belongings (for example, a blue suitcase, a red sleeping bag)
- Time and date you saw them
- Any risks to outreach staff (for example, any hazards present).
Then contact us by either:
- calling (03) 9278 4326
- emailing [email protected].
We partner with The Salvation Army – Homelessness East who visit people sleeping rough to offer support services, including information about crisis accommodation and to conduct health checks. When you report someone sleeping rough to us, we will refer them to The Salvation Army – Homelessness East to complete an outreach service or explore other options, like referring them to Victoria Police for a welfare check.
We also collect data on homelessness and use it to advocate for more and better housing and support services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Read our Homelessness Data Collection Statement at the end of this page for information on how this data is used and protected, and how you can request to update the data.
You do not need to approach someone who is sleeping rough to collect the above information.
If, for any reason, it is not safe to collect the above information, do not do so. If there is an immediate safety concern, call 000.
Homelessness in Boroondara
Homelessness is increasing across Australia, and this can be seen in Boroondara. You may see people sleeping on streets, in parks and tents, but this visible homelessness is only the tip of the iceberg.
Many more people experience hidden forms of homelessness, such as living in severely overcrowded housing, temporary accommodation or sleeping on couches (couch-surfing).
Homelessness can happen for many reasons, including loss of employment, family breakdown, mental health and family violence. The current housing crisis and increased cost of living also contribute to homelessness rates.
Find out more about homelessness and social housing on our Housing Statistics page.
Our response to homelessness
Our response to homelessness is to ensure the safety of all community members, manage amenity and coordinate referrals to support.
People who are experiencing homelessness have the right to be in public spaces and should be treated like any other member of the public. It is important to note that there is no enforcement in relation to homelessness.
Our Homelessness Protocol provides a framework for Council staff to respond to homelessness and support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Download our Homelessness Protocol
Advocacy
The State and Federal governments fund housing and homelessness services. We recognise there is an inadequate supply of social housing stock and insufficient funding for homelessness service providers to meet demand. We regularly advocate to the State and Federal Governments for more housing and funding for homelessness services.
Learn more about homelessness and what you can do
Resource guide for young people
We’ve created a Homelessness resource and education guide to help explain the complex causes of homelessness, reduce stigma and to support young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
Download Homelessness: resource and education guide
School presentations
We partner with Servants Community Housing to present talks on homelessness at primary and high schools across Boroondara to encourage students to think critically about homelessness.
Visit the Servants Community Housing website to find out more about this organisation.
To book a class presentation, contact the Safer Communities Planner (Homelessness) by either:
- calling (03) 9278 4326
- emailing [email protected].
Podcast
Listen to the homelessness episode of the Boroondara Youth Bloom podcast on Soundcloud. Hosts Hayley and Nia talk to Belinda and Brea, two amazing young people who work and volunteer in the homelessness space.
National events
Each year we recognise Homelessness Week in August and Youth Homelessness Matters Day (YHMD) on the third Wednesday of April. Both national events aim to raise awareness of the causes and impacts of homelessness.
Make a donation
If you would like to donate to a local community organisation, the following organisations accept donations through:
Please contact the community organisation before dropping off food or donations.
Volunteer
If you have time, you can give back to the community by volunteering.
The Boroondara Volunteer Resource Centre (BVRC) is a local service that supports both volunteers and organisations that need volunteers. Visit the Boroondara volunteering opportunities website to explore current volunteering opportunities. You can open a free account with the BVRC and log in to express interest in any of the positions.
You can also volunteer locally. You can find out more about local options on:
- The Salvation Army website
- the Boroondara Community Outreach website
- the Camcar website
- the Servants Community Housing website.
Begging
People beg for many reasons, including homelessness, and we understand this can be confronting.
If you need help with food and essentials, visit our Help with food and essentials page. If you want to support people who are begging in Boroondara, we recommend donating to a local organisation.
Begging is illegal under The Summary Offences Act 1966 and enforcement of this activity is the responsibility of Victoria Police. If a person who is begging is acting aggressively, intimidatingly, violently or placing people at risk, you can report the situation by calling 000.
More information
For more information about homelessness, visit the Homelessness Australia website or the Council to Homeless Persons (CHP) website.
If you want to know more about our response to homelessness, contact the Safer Communities Planner (Homelessness) by calling (03) 9278 4326 or emailing [email protected].
Homelessness Data Collection Statement
You can contact us to let us know of an individual who is experiencing homelessness or rough sleeping. We will collect information on the individual’s location, appearance (including any belongings they may have) and behaviour. We collect this personal and health information to use for the primary purpose of:
- connecting people who are homeless with local services that can support their needs
- ensuring that people needing assistance are referred to appropriate service providers
- monitoring the extent of homelessness.
We will use the collected personal and health information for its primary purpose only. If it is suspected that the individual is under the age of 18, the information will be disclosed to our Child Safety Officer and Boroondara Youth Services to determine appropriate action.
As we are not a service provider, we may be required to disclose the personal and health information collected to third parties, such as:
- The Salvation Army
- local homelessness assistance and support service providers
- Victoria Police (for example, to support providers to perform their duties, to conduct welfare checks or to provide emergency assistance)
- Ambulance Victoria (for example, to provide emergency assistance).
The personal and health information will not be disclosed to any other external party without the individual’s consent, unless permitted or required by law. De-identified information may be used to compile and maintain accurate statistics and information on the incidence of homelessness in Boroondara.
If we don’t collect this personal information, we might not be able to contact the individual or refer them to appropriate homelessness assistance or support service providers.
Requests to access or change your personal and health information should be made to our Freedom of Information Officer. For more information, refer to our Privacy and Data Protection Policy in the downloads section on this page.