Assistant Minister Luke Howarth to spend night on the Brisbane’s streets for CEO Sleepout
The Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services Luke Howarth will spend 20 June at the annual Vinnies CEO Sleepout in Brisbane Powerhouse. Along with almost 200 CEOs and business leaders, the Assistant Minister will help raise funds for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Mr Howarth said according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased almost 14 per cent since 2011. Mr Howarth called on businesses, communities, not-for-profits and governments to work together to address this important issue.
“On Census night in 2016, there were 8,200 Australians sleeping rough. The Vinnies CEO Sleeout helps participants learn about the issues people face when sleeping rough. In 2018, they raised $6.9 million to help people experiencing, or at risk of homelessness.”
“While the delivery of housing support and homelessness services is primarily a state and territory government responsibility, the Commonwealth does its share of the heavy lifting,” Mr Howarth said.
“The Morrison Government is committed to supporting vulnerable people in our community – and that’s why we’ve allocated more than $6 billion a year to housing and homelessness.”
The Federal Government currently provides around $4.5 billion per year through Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) to help eligible Australians on low to moderate income pay their rent. The Government also provides more than $1.5 billion per year to state and territory governments through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA). This includes $125 million in dedicated funding for homelessness services in 2019 20, of which almost $32 million is provided to Queensland.
For more information about the Government’s housing and homelessness programs visit the Department of Social Services website: www.dss.gov.au
For more information on how to sponsor a CEO, Team or Event please visit the Vinnies CEO Sleepout website: https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/donation