Karyn Walsh, CEO of Brisbane community organisation Micah Projects, has welcomed the continued funding for homelessness services announced in the Federal Budget.
Two forums in West End this Friday will showcase a number of innovative and successful strategies that have already begun the process of ending homelessness in Brisbane.
Forum 1 – 500 Lives 500 Homes: Celebrating Success
Forum 2 – Homelessness and Healthcare
Karyn Walsh, CEO of Brisbane community organisation Micah Projects, is calling on the people of Brisbane to show their support for Close the Gap Day on Thursday 16th March, 2017.
“The recent Prime Ministerial report on meeting the Close The Gap benchmarks revealed a dismal picture of poor performance and missed targets,” said Ms. Walsh, “so it is critical we all remain focused on the goals of the Close The Gap campaign.
“2017 sees two key milestones in Australian history,” she said, “the 50th Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum which went some way to granting equal rights to First Peoples, and the 25th Anniversary of the momentous Mabo Decision in 1992, which paved the way for the granting of Native Title and Land Rights in Australia.
“Today we acknowledge the leadership and the gains made by Indigenous leaders and community managed organisations, especially in the area of health care,” said Ms. Walsh, “and we acknowledge that more needs to be done.”
On Christmas Eve, Saturday 24th December, over two hundred volunteers coordinated by Micah Projects will pack and deliver hundreds of Christmas hampers to individuals and families who are facing a tough time over Christmas.
In the lead up to tomorrow’s COAG meeting, the 500 Lives 500 Homes campaign partners are calling for funding certainty from the federal government to end homelessness.
The coalition of 35 government and non-government organisations have this week announced that Brisbane is 500 households closer to ending homelessness for women, children, young people and individuals. Through the 500 Lives 500 Homes campaign, these organisations have collectively housed 507 households, including 179 families with 384 children since the campaign’s launch in April 2014.
Leaders and CEOs of 209 different welfare organisations have signed on to an open letter calling on the Prime Minister to intervene urgently to ‘avert the human, economic and policy disaster that will occur if the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH) is de-funded in 2017.’
Homelessness Australia and National Shelter have released the open letter to Prime Minister Turnbull this morning and re-issued their call for the Federal Government to end the prolonged uncertainty around the future of 180 frontline homelessness and family violence programs that could face closure if NPAH funding ends in 2017. Micah Projects CEO Karyn Walsh was one of the signatories.
Micah Projects’ Brisbane Domestic Violence Service is calling on the people of Brisbane to wear something orange, and decorate their workplaces and shopfronts with orange livery, as part of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
To mark the upcoming seventh anniversary of the National Apology, Micah Projects and Australian singer/songwriter duo Mundy-Turner are launching a new music video entitled “Have You Forgotten Me?”.
The Premier of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, will be attending a special Remembrance Day event to be held in Brisbane tomorrow as part of Queensland Child Protection Week.
The Hon Shannon Fentiman MP, Minister for Communities, Women and Youth, Minister for Child Safety and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, will also attend the Brisbane Remembrance Day event.
Remembrance Day is held each year to acknowledge the legacy of past failures in the Child Protection system, and the courage and determination of survivors in seeking justice.
This year’s event is particularly relevant, as the Queensland Parliament is in the process of introducing legislation that would remove the statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse.
According to Karyn Walsh, CEO of local community organisation Micah Projects, “By housing and supporting one person, one family at a time, we can continue to make progress towards our goal of ending homelessness in Brisbane.”