Call for compassion as homelessness rises

ENDURANCE athlete and philanthropist Nedd Brockmann has urged Geelong residents to see the humanity behind homelessness.

More than 300 people attended the Give Where You Live Foundation’s fifth Conversations That Matter event last week, where Brockmann spoke about homelessness, housing insecurity and community action.

“I was profoundly affected by when I would walk past people in Sydney with the complete lack of acknowledgement from other human beings,” he said.

“The only people that would make eye contact with me were the people sleeping rough on the street.

“They just wanted connection. I found that profound, so I knew that I had to do more.”

The event brought together community leaders, service providers and people with lived experience to discuss the growing challenge of homelessness across the Geelong region.

Give Where You Live Foundation chief executive Zac Lewis said more than 1,500 people were experiencing homelessness in Greater Geelong on any given night.

Almost 45 per cent, he said, were survivors of family and domestic violence, and 15 per cent were First Nations people.

“Life can change quickly. A job loss, illness, relationship breakdown or the rising cost of living can push people into incredibly vulnerable situations,” Lewis said.

“So many people in our community are doing their best to stay afloat, and often it takes just one unexpected setback to lose the security of a place to call home.”

The event also featured a panel discussion with The Outpost chair Amy Hunter, Meli’s Josephine Taylor and housing advocate Jessie Moore, who shared their experience of housing insecurity after leaving home due to family violence.

Taylor said early intervention was critical.

“I think everybody’s got a role to play,” she said. “You can pick up when people are starting to experience a level of stress or not connecting.

“Inform yourself where people can get the right supports in the community because Geelong is a great community and we’ve got lots of great services doing great things, but we can’t do it alone.”