Share the warmth during Homelessness Week

More than 9,700 Western Australians will be without a home tonight, living on the streets, couch surfing, sleeping in a car, or living in inadequate shelter.

To shine a light on this issue, Brookfield Place in Perth's CBD will donate $5 for every soup purchased at its café eateries – Basilica, Ladle + Press, and Viet Hoa, at Brookfield Place, 125 St George’s Terrace – during Homelessness Week, from 7 to 13 August. 

The proceeds will go to St Bart’s, a provider of accommodation and support services for people experiencing homelessness in Perth.

Alison Beamish, Brookfield Properties WA State Manager, said they hope the initiative will generate a significant donation to St Bart’s to help support vulnerable people while raising awareness of the impact of homelessness in the community.

“We’re proud to be partnering with St Bart’s in helping them to provide safe and supported accommodation to WA people who need it the most,” Ms Beamish said.

St Bart’s CEO Samantha Drury said the initiative by Brookfield Place is a tangible way for the community to play a role in helping vulnerable people get back on their feet.

“Winter is a particularly tough time for people experiencing homelessness, so this initiative by Brookfield Place not only raises much needed funds but also, importantly, it raises awareness in bringing the community together to take action," she said. 

The overall number of people experiencing homelessness in WA increased to 9,729 in 2021, up from the 9,005 people captured in the 2016 Census, an 8.6 per cent increase over five years, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.

WA has the highest proportion of rough sleepers in the country, with nearly one in four homeless West Australians, or 24 per cent, sleeping rough. There were 2,315 rough sleepers in WA recorded in the 2021 Census, more than double the 1,083 recorded in 2016.

There are more than 30,000 people on the Department of Communities waitlist for a home in WA, which is more than 19,000 households waiting for social housing, with limited stock to house people. 

Housing Minister John Carey, in an address to mark the start of Homelessness Week on Monday, said the state contributed more than 1,300 social housing homes in two years during "the toughest construction market in our state's history". 

"I'm trying to do ... everything I can to deliver as much social housing as possible," he said.

The By-Name List, which tracks homelessness in WA, recorded 1080 people experiencing homelessness across Perth, Fremantle, Geraldton, Bunbury, Mandurah and Rockingham, including 582 sleeping rough.

Uniting WA Co-CEO Jen Park told Business News the charity is seeing growing numbers of people who are new to the experience of homelessness.

“We are seeing more and more families living out of cars. One or both parents are still going to work, and they are sending their children to school," Ms Park said.

“Secure, long-term housing is the very most basic essential needed for people to live and thrive in their communities. Housing is a fundamental human need.”