Homelessness Week 2026

Action, Awareness and Community Connection

From 3 to 9 August 2026, communities across Australia came together to mark Homelessness Week, raising awareness of the growing housing crisis and calling for urgent action to ensure everyone has access to safe, secure and affordable housing. 

This year's national theme, Homelessness Action Now, highlighted that solutions to homelessness exist and emphasised the need for governments, communities and organisations to act with urgency. In Western Australia, Shelter WA's theme, Strong Workforce, Stronger Communities, recognised the vital contribution of frontline workers and support services supporting people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. 

At Anglicare WA, Homelessness Week provided an opportunity to raise awareness, strengthen community connections and advocate for the systemic changes needed to address the root causes of homelessness. Across the state, Anglicare WA services partnered with community organisations, local governments and sector partners to highlight the realities of housing insecurity, amplify lived-experience voices and promote pathways to housing and support. 

The week also served as a reminder that homelessness is about far more than rough sleeping. It affects individuals and families experiencing housing stress, couch surfing, overcrowded living conditions and unsafe or temporary accommodation. Behind every statistic is a person seeking stability, dignity and the opportunity to build a better future. 

Throughout the week, Anglicare WA teams engaged communities through a range of awareness-raising activities and events, creating opportunities to connect with the people we support, community members and sector partners. These conversations helped shine a light on the challenges many Western Australians face in finding and maintaining a safe place to call home, while reinforcing the importance of accessible housing and support services. 

Homelessness Week is also a call to action. While community engagement and support services play a critical role, ending homelessness requires long-term solutions, including greater investment in social and affordable housing, stronger support systems and policies that address inequality and disadvantage. 

At Anglicare WA, we remain committed to walking alongside the people and communities we serve, amplifying their voices and advocating for a fairer housing system. Homelessness Week may last only one week, but the call for action continues. Together, we can build a Western Australia where everyone has a safe place to call home and the opportunity to thrive. 

Anglicare WA School Sleep Out

Supporting Street Connect

As Homelessness Week shines a spotlight on the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness across Australia, more than 530 high school students from 20 schools across Perth took action by participating in the 2026 Anglicare WA School Sleep Out. 

Held at the WACA Ground, the School Sleep Out is more than a fundraising event. It is an opportunity for young people to learn about the realities of homelessness, hear from people working on the frontline, and reflect on the barriers that can lead to housing insecurity. Through interactive workshops, lived-experience stories and group discussions, students explored the complex causes of homelessness and considered how they can contribute to positive change in their communities. 

While one night sleeping outdoors can never replicate the experience of homelessness, it provides a powerful opportunity for students to develop empathy, challenge stereotypes and better understand the issues affecting vulnerable people in Western Australia. 

Students also demonstrated their commitment through fundraising, raising vital funds for Anglicare WA's Street Connect service. Street Connect supports young people who are sleeping rough or experiencing housing instability by helping them access accommodation, practical support and pathways toward a safer future. 

The School Sleep Out reminds us that ending homelessness requires more than emergency responses. It requires community understanding, early intervention, affordable housing and a commitment to addressing the systemic issues that place people at risk. 

As we mark the end of Homelessness Week, we thank every student, teacher, volunteer and supporter who made this year's event possible. Together, they have helped raise awareness of youth homelessness while providing practical support for young people doing it tough. 

Shelter Together Community Bank

 Albany Homelessness Fundraiser

Anglicare WA Albany housing services staff attended the Shelter Together Community Bank Albany Homelessness Fundraiser 2026 as part of this year’s Homelessness Week. Formerly known as the BIG Sleep Out, the annual event raises awareness and vital funds to help reduce the impact of homelessness across the region. 

Senior Housing Case Manager Tamara Owens and Housing Case Manager David Pink represented Team Anglicare at this year’s sleep out, spending a cold and wet night outdoors in solidarity with those who experience homelessness every day. While it provided a brief glimpse into what many of our community members experience each night while facing homelessness, it was a powerful reminder of how important events like this are. 

Thanks to the generosity of Anglicare WA colleagues, friends, family and the wider community, Team Anglicare raised an incredible $7,050, which was matched to bring the total contribution to $14,100. The team was also recognised as the event’s Fundraising Champions. 

Funds raised will go to the Albany Community Foundation’s (ACF) Homelessness Fund to assist members of the community experiencing homelessness. The AFC is a unique, community-led organisation that provides financial support to individuals, families and groups facing hardship or in crisis throughout the Great Southern, and champion and drive local civic initiatives that create lasting benefits for the community. 

Anglicare WA is a proud supporter of the ACF, and its Great Southern services have also benefited from the flexibility of the ACF’s Homelessness Fund, which helps fill gaps when support is unavailable through other programs or funding streams. This makes the fund an invaluable resource for both local services and the people they support. 

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated, encouraged, and supported Team Anglicare. Your generosity is helping to create positive change and make a real difference in the lives of people across the Great Southern community.

No Place for Poverty

Why Housing Security Matters

“Your life is on hold.” That is how Len describes the two years he spent sleeping rough. His words are simple, but they capture the reality of homelessness and why housing is one of the foundations people need to build a good life. 

For the No Place for Poverty movement, Homelessness Week is an important opportunity to raise awareness of the connection between poverty and housing insecurity. When housing becomes unstable, it can affect every part of a person's life, including their health, employment, relationships, sense of belonging and ability to plan for the future. Preventing homelessness means addressing the conditions that can push people into poverty, and vice versa. 

This year's national Homelessness Week theme, Homelessness Action Now, recognised that we already know what works. We need action at the scale and urgency the housing crisis demands. 

Throughout the week, No Place for Poverty helped bring these issues to life through Voices for Change, a public exhibition featuring people with lived experience of poverty alongside community leaders and advocates. The exhibition created space for stories that are too often unheard, while highlighting both the challenges people face and the solutions that can make a difference. 

Reflecting on one of the displays, No Place for Poverty Community Engagement Officer Tarsha Lucas said, "For many of us, a car is a way to get from place to place. For others, it becomes a bedroom, living room and refuge. This display was a powerful reminder that everyone deserves the dignity and security of a place to call home." 

We also joined the Kindness Collective's Homelessness Week event alongside local homelessness and community organisations, connecting with community members and sharing stories through video, social media and the exhibition itself. 

Len's story reminds us that a safe and secure home is about much more than a roof over your head. It provides the stability people need to look after their wellbeing, maintain connections and rebuild their lives. 

While Homelessness Week has ended, the work continues. Poverty is not inevitable. By investing in the foundations people need, including secure housing, we can create a community where everyone has the security, choice and opportunity to thrive.