In this guest contribution, Bo Stocker, Project Manager at Southside Community Foundation, shares two newly launched initiatives that tackle the housing crisis locally, offering a model of place-based action relevant to communities across Australia. Southside CF is hosted by Australian Communities Foundation (ACF) as a Named Fund.
Southside Community Foundation has recently launched two important initiatives to help tackle the national housing crisis at a local level.
The first initiative is already underway with funding support from two Australian Communities Foundation (ACF) Named Funds. Thanks to the generous support of the Silver Gold Fund, with additional backing from the Eagle‑Thwaites Fund, at least $52,000 will be invested this year to refurbish community housing in Melbourne’s inner south – transforming vacant properties into safe, liveable homes for people at risk of homelessness.
The need is practical and urgent: when a social housing tenancy ends, years of wear and tear can leave a property unlivable. Without funding for much-needed refurbishment, homes sit vacant while people go without. These gifts are a smart investment with tangible impact, changing that equation.
“Homelessness in our community is a solvable problem when the right people come together,” says Helen Imber of the Silver Gold Fund. “We’re proud to back the refurbishment program because it turns empty units and rooms into homes for people who need them most, and that’s the kind of local impact we want our giving to have.”
Homelessness in our community is a solvable problem when the right people come together.”
Southside CF will work alongside Charlie Beckley, CEO of South Port Community Housing, and Andrew D’Arcy, CEO of St Kilda Community Housing, to roll out the program. Both leaders see the ‘room at a time’ model as a smart use of donor funds.
“It creates a safe, timely and welcoming home,” both attest, “while enabling us to potentially redirect scarce operating funds into additional support or new housing supply.”
The second initiative looks further ahead into the role local communities can play in tackling the housing crisis. Southside CF is commissioning a study into the feasibility of establishing a dedicated Southside community housing fund, a vehicle for long-term, community-led investment in local housing supply.
The stakes are high: modelling by SGS Economics projects that homelessness in Melbourne’s southside area could double over the next twenty years to 2,000 people, with a further 10,000 locals experiencing severe rental stress.
ACF Fundholders, including the E.M. Horton Family Fund and the Eagle-Thwaites Fund, are stepping forward to underwrite the study, joined by Heather McKee and Rob McGauran of MGS Architects, an expert in research-led place-making.
“These projections are stark, but not inevitable,” Heather and Rob reflect, “Southside is building practical responses now while laying the groundwork for answers over the long-term. It is exactly the kind of joined-up thinking the housing crisis demands.”
ACF is proud to provide back-office support to community foundations like Southside and help strong local ideas grow into solutions.”
The gap between what exists and what’s needed is glaring. Southside CF’s work can have implications for local communities across the country.
“Southside Community Foundation is a powerful example of how local leadership, when supported by the right philanthropic structure, can drive meaningful responses to complex challenges like housing,” says ACF CEO, Andrew Binns. “We’re proud to provide back-office support to community foundations like Southside and help strong local ideas grow into solutions with relevance far beyond one community.”
If you’d like to support the Southside CF housing initiatives, you can do so here. If you’d like to hear more about the projects, you can reach out to Bo at [email protected].
