Hunter Homeless Connect Inc. is a volunteer run organisation, whose primary focus is to connect people in need with vital services. Our reach is not only in Newcastle, we bring services and people together across most LGAs across the lower and upper Hunter, including Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Cessnock. Muswellbrook and the Central Coast. Our directories are distributed widely throughout all of these LGAs and many services from all regions attend our annual event.
We have three lines of services, which I will outline below. They all require ongoing financial support.
Hunter Homeless Connect Day Annual Event
This is an annual event which has been held since 2009. It began as a small event at the PCYC back then, and over the years it has grown exponentially. The event links people to vital services such as accommodation and housing providers, health and wellbeing, legal and financial assistance, employment, study, and general support to people who are experiencing homelessness, doing it tough and/or are at risk of homelessness. This is delivered in an environment that maintains dignity, fosters a culture of connectedness, and encourages a sense of being a valued member of the community.
Each year up to 1,500 guests attend, accessing a one-stop-shop of human and community services, including assistance with housing, birth certificates, legal & financial problems, electricity, gas and water bills, employment/study, domestic violence support, drug & alcohol issues, health screening & information including immunisations, eye tests, diabetes checks, mental health services and more. Extras include free haircuts and food, as well as entertainment and sporting activities.
In 2023, the event was unprecedented in terms of attendance. With the ongoing housing crisis and cost of living skyrocketing, it was no surprise to any of us in the sector that we would see more people seeking support. We had 130 services on the ground (plus approximately 1500 associated staff attending throughout the day) 60 volunteers on hand, multiple groups of students and local organisations visiting and over 1400 guests coming through the gates to access support, the overall attendance exceeded 3000 people.
Bringing all of these services together under the one roof each year, is not only challenging, it is also expensive. We have been forced to move into the Newcastle Exhibition Centre space this year, due to increased numbers and it will now cost us over $35,000.00 to facilitate the event.
We are providing an important service to the community with this event and as we are a volunteer run board, with no employees, any sponsorship, donations, in-kind support will be gratefully accepted.
Click here to see an overview of Hunter Homeless Connect Day on our website.
Community Services Directory
We used to only distribute this directory (PDF version attached) at our annual event in the early years. TAFE design students assisted us with putting it together for the purpose of providing it to guests to attended the event seeking support from various services. During COVID, when we were unable to run the event for a couple of years, we received funding from the City of Newcastle, to take it online, and since September 2020 we have distributed over 25,000 printed copies throughout the community and it has become the highest downloaded directory across all of the LGAs in Australia with nearly 6,000 downloads in total. They can be downloaded from our website here.
The directory has become a valuable resource to many in the community and it is not only useful for individuals and families who are seeking support, many service providers, businesses, correctional centres, educational facilities, medical centres etc, now stock copies of it.
Connecting the Hunter Program
In response to constant feedback from the community, about holding more than one event per year (which we cannot do), we came up with a program that provides connection for people in need, with support services all year round. It’s a Pay it Forward model, where we have 4 donation tap point devices installed in cafes around the region, which collect funds donated by members of the community and these funds are used to purchase food vouchers from local IGA stores. These vouchers are distributed to specialist homelessness service providers, who then pass them directly onto people who are seeking support. We like to call this a community response to homelessness.
The program needs facilitation though, maintaining relationships with the café staff, service providers on the ground and delivery of our community service directories. We initially received funding from the community banking sector 5 years ago, to fund a contracted coordinator to facilitate the program and this has been working really well. However we are reaching the end of our funds to maintain the program and are seeking ongoing partnerships with larger organisations, to help us keep it going.
Here’s a link to the page on our website https://hunterhomelessconnect.org.au/connecting-the-hunter-program/
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