On Thursday 10 August, to mark 2023 Homelessness Week, the Give Where You Live Foundation held its live crowdfunding event, Pitch Up Geelong, with three community organisations sharing their stories and collectively raising more than $95,000 to address homelessness in our community.
Bill Mithen, CEO of the Give Where You Live Foundation said homelessness initiatives are among the Foundation’s key priorities, with the growing number of people who are experiencing, or at risk of homelessness in the Geelong community.
“The 2023 theme for Homelessness Week ‘It’s time to end homelessness,’ highlighted the importance of events like Pitch Up Geelong, where the combined efforts of our three pitching organisations, along with support from our community, can help to make a difference for people locally.”
“Thanks to the generosity of our matched funding partners and everyone who joined us at this year’s Pitch Up Geelong event, we successfully raised over $86,000 for Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative, Neami National and Lazarus Community Centre to continue working towards a fairer community for those experiencing homelessness.”
Pitch Up Geelong provided a platform for the three community organisations to share their stories of impact, build support, make new connections across the community and raise vital funds.
This year’s event inspired laughter, tears, and generosity that has the potential to change lives.
Lazarus Community Centre raised $34,000 to to help the organisation assist the growing number of people seeking support. Over the past year Lazarus has experienced an increased demand, with Andrew just one of the 6199 people who accessed their services in the past 12 months, significantly up on the 5004 people in 2022.
Jade Hamilton, General Manager, Lazarus Community Centre was speechless at the end of event, saying the amount raised would make a difference in the lives of the increasing number of people coming to Lazarus every day.
“We average about 45 people coming in each day, so this money will help so many people. The support will mean so much to our future certainty, it means we can continue to provide our service to our clients,” said Jade.
Neami National raised over $26,000 to support the Geelong Zero initiative which aims to reduce homelessness in the Geelong region and end rough sleeping by 2025. The latest Geelong Zero data shared during the Pitch Up Geelong event, shows that 7.39 years is the average time people are living on the streets or emergency accommodation. It also revealed other key insights into people who are experiencing homelessness in our community, including that the average age of people experiencing homelessness is 43 years, over 69% are male and 93% identify as having a mental health condition.
Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative also raised over $26,000 to help them establish a supported immediate crisis and short-term housing program in their new Youth Hub due to open soon. With Aboriginal people 15 times more likely than non-Indigenous people to be homeless or at risk of homelessness, Wathaurong want to create a hostel model that is designed to provide cultural support and empowerment for young Aboriginal people in the community.
Lily Edwards, Youth Hub Project Officer, Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative was thrilled with the amount raised on the night.
“This support means we can start a process with our young people and consult with them on the complex needs of them experiencing homelessness. We can start to put a framework in place to address those needs and ensure cultural safety throughout the process,” Lily said.
On the night donations were matched up to $30,000 thanks to the Give Where You Live Foundation and other matched funding partners Anthony Costa Foundation, Built, and Findex Community Fund. The event was also supported by event partners, Evans and Partners, Kerr’s Hire and Union Cellars.