HOMELESS HUB

Football South Coast will break new ground as it forms a partnership with the Wollongong Homeless Hub this month.

The region's governing body will join forces with the hub to support homeless people in the region.

Football South Coast chief executive Ann-Marie Balliana said she hoped it was the start of a long relationship between the pair.

"We would love to look at this as a long-term partnership where we can help with the fund-raising side of things and we also want to do a street soccer program where we can get these members of the community involved in clinics," she said.

The Homeless Hub gives access to social and tenancy information and also provides food and living supplies to people in the region.

The partnership with Football South Coast will aim to raise funds and also encourage participation in the football community.

"These relationships are really important because the hub does not receive enough funding to run services that we are supplying at the moment," Homeless Hub manager Julie Mitchell said.

"On an average day we get around 40 people coming in to the hub for assistance to find accommodation and for help with food.

 

"We serve an average of around 23 breakfasts every morning to people who are sleeping rough.

"Some people are couch surfing, others sleeping in parks or on beaches and others in specialist home accommodation.

"We provide the support to help break that cycle."

The next fund-raiser will be on June 12. It will be a Wrap Up Homelessness day where people are encouraged to wear a scarf and donate $2 to the Homeless Hub.

The idea came from seven-year-old school student Evie Neill.

"When I found out that I was on the SRC I knew that there was lots of homeless people every night and that they needed help," Neill said.




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