Community groups and businesses across Mount Alexander have folded 2,400 origami houses to highlight the scale of Victoria’s homelessness crisis.
The origami houses will be presented at State Parliament for Homelessness Week (7-13 August) in a Houses at Parliament campaign to demand more action to boost the supply of social housing.
Homelessness services and community groups across Victoria aimed to fold 6,000 houses to represent the number of social and affordable homes Victoria needs each year to ensure everyone has a roof over their head. They’re also calling for a national plan to end homelessness.
Mount Alexander Shire alone produced 2,400 origami houses, showing how strongly our community wants to see government commitment to ending homelessness for good.
Michael McMahon, Dhelkaya Health’s Housing and Homelessness ServiceManager, said: “We were blown away by the community support that showed housing and homelessness is everyone’s issue”.
“Everybody deserves a safe home and the scale of the crisis, shown through the origami houses, shows it can be solved if the government commits to building enough supply.
“Now, we need the government to act. We certainly have enough paper houses to take to Parliament, but the campaign does not have to end here.”
The Houses at Parliament campaign is calling on the State Government to commit to building at least 6,000 new social houses each year, as well create a national plan to end homelessness.
The latest Census figures show that at least 30,000 Victorians experience homelessness on any given night. The theme for this year’s Homelessness Week is ‘It’s time to end homelessness’.
People are encouraged to upload pictures of their origami houses to social media to demand action from the government. More information on the campaign can be found at www.vhn.org.au/housesatparliament.
