Homelessness Week 2025 – Australia’s crisis demands comprehensive solutions

Homelessness in Australia is now at the worst levels in living memory – and the need is only growing.

The number of people already homeless and seeking help jumped by 20% in less than a year, rising from 24,517 in May 2022 to 29,449 in March 2023. Domestic violence is the leading driver for 45% of women and children experiencing homelessness.

As a specialist homelessness service, WAGEC knows that stable housing, trauma-informed care, and wraparound support services save lives. However, the demand for support is overwhelming and unrelenting, with decade-long waits for social housing and services operating at capacity.

This Homelessness Week, WAGEC is calling for investment in the frontline to ensure that all women and children can access the support they deserve. Will you join us?

Why both crisis response and prevention matter

Crisis services are absolutely critical – they provide immediate safety when women and children have nowhere else to turn. But here’s what we know: without long-term solutions, we’re simply managing an endless cycle.

Women flee violence only to face homelessness. They access crisis accommodation, only to return to unsafe situations because there’s nowhere else to go. Children experience the trauma of instability over and over again.

We see the human cost every day.

That’s why we need investment in both immediate crisis response AND the long-term solutions that break the cycle entirely.

What can you do?

Crisis services support women today. Long-term solutions break the cycle. We need both – and we need your help to get there.

We want to know what safe futures look like to you. Here’s how you can take action this Homelessness Week: 

1. Download your ‘Fund the frontline, fund ____ ‘ template
2. Tell us what you want to see funded to create safer futures (e.g. social housing, prevention)
3. Post and tag WAGEC (@womens.girls.emergency.centre)
4. Follow our socials to hear more ways to get involved