The City of Bayswater will collaborate with local service providers this month to hold the Community Anti-Poverty Reach Out event, to help connect those experiencing poverty or at risk of homelessness with advice and support from local organisations.
The 'drop in’ community engagement event will be held on Wednesday 14 October from 10am - 1pm, and will see eight local agencies come together at Salvation Army Morley headquarters to hold a series of stalls to provide free advice on navigating uncertain times.
Participating organisations include People who Care - Starting over Support, Northern Suburbs Legal Centre, 55 Central – Peers through Sport, Orana House Inc., Helping Minds, Mobile Foodbank, and Orange Sky.
Mobile coffee service Hasta Barista Baby will also be providing free coffees for the first 100 attendees.
The event will also be a platform to launch the City's newly developed 'Caring for our community' brochure, which shares real life stories of community members who have experienced homelessness and contains vital information about support services.
The resource was created in response to a growing number of people experiencing or immediately facing homelessness as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
City of Bayswater Deputy Mayor Cr Filomena Piffaretti said the City is committed to a coordinated response to address the issue of homelessness within the local community.
"The City has an ongoing commitment to collaborating with local service providers to ensure vulnerable members of our community have access to the support they need," said Cr Piffaretti.
"The City's new 'Caring for our community' resource is a meaningful publication that talks about the effects of homelessness through real life stories and I would like to thank community members and local service providers who enabled us to share these stories to help create awareness and reduce stigma.
"Individuals who experience or are at risk of homelessness often find themselves in this situation for a range of different reasons - every situation is unique. We are proud to see local service providers come together for our Anti-Poverty Reach Out event to provide support and advice to our community."
Last month, Council appointed the City's Local Homelessness Advisory Committee, who will provide strategic advice and recommendations on the development of the City's Local Homelessness Strategy, scheduled to be drafted by February 2021.
Residents will be able to attend the Anti-Poverty Reach Out event on Wednesday 14 October from 10am - 1pm, at the Salvation Army Morley headquarters on 565 Walter Road East, Morley.
Further details on the event can be found here.
Those seeking further information on the Community Anti-Poverty Reach Out event can contact the City's Community Development team on 08 9272 0621.