Sign now to support Melburnians in a housing crisis

Permanent homes are urgently needed for the 1000 Melburnians we are currently supporting in COVID-19 emergency housing.

The virus has shown us our own health is intimately connected to the health of the person next to us and that everyone needs shelter.

It’s also shown us homelessness can be just one pay cheque away. Many people like Colin, a 48-year-old Melburnian, have recently lost jobs, homes, and have had to face sleeping on the street for the first time.

“One of my sons said to me ‘but Dad, you’ve always had a roof of some sort.’ He just didn’t understand how this had happened.”

Colin was among the first rough sleepers to move into emergency housing in the city at the start of the lockdown.

Through this crisis Launch Housing has placed more than 1,000 people in emergency housing and helped with food, health checks and support for kids to keep up with school.

But this emergency response cannot last forever.

We urgently need to get our 1,000 clients what they really need: a home.  

The State Government has led the way nationally during this crisis. They were the first out of the blocks to offer emergency housing, but the State of Victoria spends less than half of what other states spend on social housing – and that’s not good enough.

Our work will be in vain if people have nowhere to stay after lockdown.

We are asking the Andrews Government to continue its strong leadership and future-proof people’s safety and stability.

It can begin with the purchase of 500 units from existing housing and unsold developer projects. 

No Melburnian should have to face winter on the street or sleeping in their car. It shouldn’t take a pandemic to realise this.

Call on the Andrews Government to rapidly fund long term affordable housing for Victorians starting with 500 currently empty units. Let’s end homelessness together.