The Don Dunstan Foundation released the following announcement this morning of their participation as a vanguard city in the Institute of Global Homelessness’s A Place to Call Home campaign:
The Adelaide CBD (Central Business District) will join a select group of Vanguard Cities on six continents to partner with the Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH) in setting ambitious but achievable goals to solve the problem of homelessness as part of the A Place to Call Home initiative.
In announcing Adelaide as one of the Vanguard Cities, Dame Louise Casey says South Australia’s efforts will help shape the global response to street homelessness.
The Adelaide Zero Project was announced by the Don Dunston Foundation in August this year, supported by the State Government, the City of Adelaide, Flinders and Adelaide universities, Bendigo Bank and a host of community organizations.
“Homelessness is a global challenge but it is an eminently solvable problem,” Casey says. “By setting up a network of Vanguard Cities we will strengthen the global efforts to end street homelessness, a problem which can be solved if we disseminate learning and success to motivate local leaders and inspire others to act.”
The vision of A Place to Call Home is that within a generation, we will live in a world where everyone has a place to call home – a home that offers security, safety, autonomy and opportunity. In Adelaide, about 100 people are sleeping rough each night in the CBD.
“It’s a real coup for Adelaide to be named the only Vanguard City in Australia, and to be a leader in an historic effort to end street homelessness worldwide,” Don Dunstan Foundation Executive Director David Pearson says. “As a Vanguard City, we’ll receive significant support from IGH which will help us take the best knowledge from our peers internationally about what works and apply that here in Adelaide.”
Lord Mayor Martin Haese says a city can be judged by how it treats those less fortunate and the City of Adelaide is proud to collaborate with the State Government, private sector, and community partners, to lead the way in achieving Functional Zero homelessness.
Bendigo Bank has proudly joined the Adelaide Zero Project as the Principal Partner. The Bank’s State Manger SA/NT, Joe Formichella says working for the benefit of our customers and the community is an integral part of how we do business.