Everyone should have a safe place to call home, but rising poverty is pushing more people into homelessness, hunger, and deep disadvantage. Poverty limits choice and makes it harder to find work, secure stable housing, and live with dignity.
This September and October, we’re raising funds and awareness to help people break free from poverty and homelessness.
Your support will deliver food relief, emergency aid like clothing and vouchers, hygiene kits, housing support, legal aid, and pathways to employment.
Right now, 3.3 million Australians are living in poverty — that’s one in eight adults and one in six children struggling to afford life’s basics: a safe home, enough food, and a sense of security.
60% of people on JobSeeker live below the poverty line
34% of single-parent families are living in poverty.
Poverty is a powerful driver of homelessness. Rising rents, stagnant wages, and insufficient income support mean too many people are one bill away from crisis.
Poverty means having to make impossible choices: pay the rent or buy food, cover school costs or keep the lights on. When even a small setback hits — an illness, job loss, or unexpected bill — it can push people over the edge into homelessness.
If we’re serious about ending homelessness, we must address poverty head-on.
“Spiralling cost of living pressures have forced more individuals below the poverty line and in need of our services – StreetSmart’s support will have a direct impact on the quality of life of the most financially stressed who are on the margins.
Grants like this support us to provide the most basic necessities of food, clothing, financial support and shelter, to give dignity and a pathway forward.”
– StreetSmart partner Adelaide Day Centre, SA
“For many, income is barely scraping the poverty line in Australia and this makes it extremely difficult for families to self-fund some of the most essential needs like nutritious food, transport, clothing.
This support is vital – it helps us keep people out of poverty who are living with low incomes and at risk of homelessness.”
– StreetSmart partner Shelter Housing Action Cairns, QLD
Poverty and homelessness are complex and connected issues — but change is possible. We’re focused on reducing the immediate impacts of poverty and providing pathways towards economic empowerment and housing security for those facing and experiencing homelessness.
When you donate, you join a collective, community-driven response that funds smaller, grassroots organisations on the frontline.
Your generosity will:
Provide food relief and hot meals.
Deliver emergency aid like clothing, toiletries, and vouchers.
Support tenancy programs to prevent homelessness.
Fund employment opportunities and skill-building.
Give hope and dignity to people doing it tough. Donate today.
StreetSmart is an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming workplace that values diversity of expression. We know that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are particularly vulnerable to experiencing homelessness and we partner with organisations that work to support people in need, without discrimination or prejudice.
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the unceded lands on which our organisation is located and where we conduct our business. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present. StreetSmart is committed to honouring Indigenous peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.
StreetSmart is an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming workplace that values diversity of expression. We know that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are particularly vulnerable to experiencing homelessness and we partner with organisations that work to support people in need, without discrimination or prejudice.
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the unceded lands on which our organisation is located and where we conduct our business. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present. StreetSmart is committed to honouring Indigenous peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.
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