Category Archives: Uncategorized

101 people found sleeping rough in Melbourne City

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The Age reported the following to this years Street count:

  • 101 people were found to be sleeping rough (on park benches or doorways etc)
  • 87 were male
  • 80% of those counted were between 25-60 years of age
  • 54 out of the 101 were surveyed and it was found that 2/3 had been homeless for more than 2 years.  16 people had been homeless for more than 5 years.  

Click here to see previous street counts.  

It’s important to view these reports and stats with some perspective.  Firstly the street count is done every year in winter – meaning that numbers may be smaller due to the cold.  Also we know that only 16% of homeless people sleep rough (the rest are staying at friends/relatives or some form of temporary accommodation).  This means that the street count reflects the most visible and obvious of the homeless amongst us.  This is also reflected by the fact that 87 of those found sleeping rough were men.  Other statistics tell us that the homeless population is very close to 50-50 male-female.  So why then were mostly men found on the streets? Perhaps it is because women/children/teenagers are seen as more vulnerable and ‘worthy’ of receiving the limited crisis and temporary accommodation available.  Perhaps what the street count really shows us is the forgotten of the forgotten people amongst our city.  

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StreetCount 2012 

On Wednesday June 6th The City of Melbourne will be undertaking the fifth annual count of people sleeping rough in Melbourne.

Working together with key homelessness support agencies and with an army of volunteers StreetCount aims to collect accurate information about people experiencing homelessness around Melbourne.

It is important that this information is gathered  as it will be used to plan and develop long term solutions to homelessness in Melbourne. The volunteers are trained to gather information in the most respectful way possible and the information gathered is treated with sensitivity. 

CLICK HERE if you would like to know more about StreetCount 2012

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Can you help? 

A big part of Credo (the space where we provide a free lunch) are the bowls that we eat off.  We have a long tradition of inviting the Credo community to hand decorate the bowls that we eat off, thus creating a sense of ownership. Sadly though these bowls often break.  

We are calling on YOU  and your school to either make us some new bowls in your art class that we can then decorate, or to help fundraise the provision of these.  

Can you help? If so email us – Blythe Toll.

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWG1OeaGUrY?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0&w=500&h=375]

On the 24th of April we went to the launch of headspace’s new campaign.  

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headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, helping young people who are going through a tough time.  

Approximately 14% of 12-17 year olds and 27% of 18-25 experience mental health or alcohol and substance use problems each year.  Around 30% of homeless people are affected by mental health.  Mental health is the single biggest health issue facing young Australians.  

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At the launch we heard from an amazing young women about her struggle with mental health and homelessness.  She said that headspace gave her the ability to reach out and ask for help and provided her with the help she needed to navigate the murky waters.  

For us at Urban Seed we have found that this: the ability to connect and have those who can help you is the way to make home. This leaves us with a pretty simple challenge, can we help create home for those around us by connecting and offering help when needed?   

If you or someone you know is experiencing some mental health issues, go to headpsace.org.au

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gseUWSOnc0?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0&w=500&h=375]

Check out this great video, ‘Couch for Rent’, made by made by young people in Ballarat through Lead On Ballarat’s Get Reel film program. It explores many of the complex issues of youth homelessness.  

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

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Today is Youth Homelessness Matter Day.  45,000 out of 100,000 + homeless people in Australia are youth.  

We spent the day talking to 100 students from all around Victoria about homeless in Melbourne.  

Someone else's Shoes

We used these magnetic cut outs to reflect on what we may need and feel if we were homeless.  In the end we discovered that basically we all need the same things.  

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Who do you have lunch with?  Everyday at Urban Seed, we hold a free lunch in Credo Cafe, full of  people who once were strangers.  This somewhat ‘random’ collection of people are made up of  homeless people to CEO’s.  All sharing a free lunch around one table.  

What happens when you share a meal with someone? Apart from eating, you chat, and begin to get to know someone.  At our table at Credo quickly you discover that people are just people  – be they homeless or business man.  And that strangers are fiction.  

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL7ndRZjiXQ]

We want to invite you to have lunch with someone you don’t know, and discover for yourself that Strangers are Fiction.  So why not throw a party, share a meal, or hold an event – and invite your friends, family PLUS at least one person you don’t know very well.  It only takes four easy steps to create a Strangers are Fiction meal: Look, Invite, Eat, Share!

  Look around your neighbourhood, school, workplace or church.  Who would you like to get to know?

  Invite your friends, family, and someone new!

  Throw a party, share a meal, have a picnic.

  Tell us your story, send us your pics!

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCJcfkD-Tkw?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0&w=500&h=304]

This was filmed in Union Lane in Melbourne.  A regular stop in our City is Our Home Walks.  We had to endure the ‘fruits’ of this in the days after.  It was not pleasant.  🙁

One of the interesting things about Melbourne, is that it has many different spaces and sections.  Each space or section, caters for something different.  As the spaces change in the city, so do the people in those spaces and the activities done in them.  

The laneways in Melbourne provide an alternate space and voice.  Thus graffiti is a popular element of Melbourne’s laneways.   Can you imagine the 3L milk challenge being done in the Block arcade?

Union Lane is one of the places in the city where we like to play laneway cricket.  For us cricket is a way of blurring the lines between the different sections and spaces that exist in the city.  When we play cricket a game is usually made up of ‘random’ people who all wish to play cricket.  Ordinarily these people would not hang out or get to know each other, but by playing cricket they begin to realise that they have many things in common.  

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

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This piece of graffiti was done by Melbourne based street artist Meek.  (Not Banksy as many think).  It appeared all around Melbourne in 2004.  

One of the great things about graffiti is that it asks many questions, rather than just giving answers.  

What kind of change?

His life to change?

The world to change?

This in turn begs the questions:

Is this change possible, and how?

Does it require any change from us?