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“Thank you for your support and for not rushing me. I often feel judged when I seek help, but you have given me respect.”

Step Up is an initiative run from St Kilda Gatehouse Drop In which is centrally located in St Kilda. Step Up provides women (including non-binary and trans) aged 18+ reliant on street sex work and experiencing chronic homelessness with direct referrals to specialised housing, health and legal supports ensuring they have the best chance of ‘stepping up’ into safe, secure housing.

Step Up is creating pathways for women to exit the cycle of homelessness. Specifically, they

• Provide quality, trauma-informed and relational support which increases a woman’s chance of securing housing, especially those reliant on street sex work.
• Offer access to a safe space of belonging and connection and the various services and programs run from the Drop In centre (Monday- Friday). No appointment necessary.
• Enable referral pathways to primary housing, community and health services supporting women address complex needs and improve wellbeing.
• Help to reduce the short and long-term health and socio-economic impacts that homelessness has on the life of a woman.

Halfway through the project,

• 20 chronically homeless women are currently being supported by the service, with each woman being individually supported to help end her experience of homelessness.
• Twelve women are currently sleeping rough, in squats, hostels or couch surfing.
• Six women have been linked to housing
• Another has moved into temporary accommodation and another woman assisted in reconnecting with family.

In addition, the team has delivered information workshops to two local community groups. These workshops are designed to addressed issues involved with homelessness, challenge participants to think about stereotypes and provide opportunities for participants to be part of the solution. Both groups provided positive feedback from their experience.

Since the lockdowns of COVID-19, visits across St Kilda Gatehouse services have increased by 35%, the demand for material aid has jumped 22% and there has been a 79% increase in referrals, mentoring, advocacy, and educational sessions. Since July 2022, the number of visits to the Drop In has steadily increased and more women are ‘visibly’ experiencing homelessness. As a result, the demand for housing assistance continues to rise.

The project is due to finish in June 2023.

A home is much more than four walls. A safe, affordable home is necessary to meet our most basic needs. Homelessness takes an enormous toll on physical and mental health. Homelessness destroys hope and damages lives. The importance of a home cannot be overstated. It is a fundamental human right.

Homelessness can be solved. It requires a decent supply of long term, affordable housing and the appropriate support to ensure that housing will be sustained.

The Australian Government committed to ensuring all people in Australia have a safe and stable home when it ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1975. By ratifying this Covenant, under international law, Australia agreed to respect, protect and fulfil these rights, including the right to housing and an adequate standard of living.

In March, we collaborated with Dr Jessie Hohmann, an international expert on the right to housing, to engage with the UN regarding homelessness in Australia. At a Zoom meeting with the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, we highlighted our concerns about the right to housing in Australia, particularly where the government is breaching its responsibilities under the Covenant. Amongst people experiencing homelessness, we are particularly concerned about the overrepresentation of older women, young people and First Nations Peoples.

The full text of the Mercy Foundation’s submissions to the Committee can be found here: https://bit.ly/3q78WX8

Our discussions helped inform the UN’s List of Issues that the Australian government will be asked to respond to in its report to the UN in 2023. The List of Issues were released in April, and we were pleased to see a number of references to our concerns around the right to housing.