We Are Mobilise

Mobilise Pay – Donate to support Single Mothers on Low-Income

Mobilise Pay – Donate to support Single Mothers on Low-Income

Mobilise Pay is a year-long direct giving program aimed at single mother families. Mobilise Pay will pay for their bills, necessities, and recreational activities for their children. Through our commitment to trialling direct giving programs, We Are Mobilise is excited to provide targeted support to single mothers with lived experience, or who are at an ...

GOAL

$30,000

RAISED

$6,000

Australia > National / Multi-state > Metro
22/01/2025 > 22/01/2025

Field of Interest

  • Housing and homelessness
  • Individual/family services and support

Target Population

  • People experiencing or at risk of homelessness
  • Women and girls
We Are Mobilise We Are Mobilise

We Are Mobilise was created to journey alongside those experiencing homelessness and explore how we can best make a tangible impact in the lives of those in need. Our work spans functional assistance on the streets to our Australian-first direct giving programs that provide sustainable support systems. Our efforts create a substantial impact on a larger scale by championing the cause through our "Igniting a Movement" initiative.

Our Mission: To develop innovative ways to positively transforms the lives of those facing homelessness across Australia.

Our Vision: To create a world where no one has to sleep on the street.
Through busing boundaries and our unwavering commitment to 'connection for change', our genuine human connection, time, and companionship will create transformational change.

What we do:
Outreach - Offering conversations, care packages and social connection to our friends doing it tough out on the streets.
Direct Giving - We aim to provide funding directly to those experiencing homelessness. Mobilise offers employment, support networks and direct grants through programs to empower individuals to create their own path out of homelessness.
Igniting a Movement - Leveraging storytelling to give a voice to those experiencing homelessness. Engaging the public and private sector to get involved, develop solutions, and drive change within our community

Project Summary

Mobilise Pay is a year-long direct giving program aimed at single mother families. Mobilise Pay will pay for their bills, necessities, and recreational activities for their children. Through our commitment to trialling direct giving programs, We Are Mobilise is excited to provide targeted support to single mothers with lived experience, or who are at an increased risk of homelessness. Mobilise Pay uses a voucher and gift system to cover utility, grocery and extracurricular activity costs for a full calendar year. Program participants will also have access to third-party services provided by charities and not-for-profits as they wish, including financial counselling and healthy eating resources. By covering the basics of maintaining a healthy family, Mobilise Pay aims to give single mothers the ability to sustainably maintain a family budget on low-income during a time of economic uncertainty.

The pilot approach is shown below. Up to $10,000 in funding will be allocated to each family across four expense areas:
– Up to $2,500 towards utility debts
– Up to $200 per month for water and energy bills
– Up to $2,000 in food vouchers
– Up to $2,000 in kids recreational activities

Each family will have different needs, and different expenses based on the number of dependent children. The total pool of funding will be determined according to the needs of the family, with minimum allocations in each of the four areas.

Why are we launching this program?

– Homelessness is affecting more Australian women. Women are disproportionately facing homelessness accounting for 81.7% of the 6,067 increase of people experiencing homelessness in 2021.

– Utilities are a major driver of financial stress. Existing support schemes for utility bills are progressive and go some way to supporting people doing it tough, but the scale of this financial hardship for essential services shows that more and longer-term assistance is needed. The rising cost of energy bills are impacting affordability, with water bills also on the rise.

– Extracurricular activities are out of reach for many, but play an important role in closing the gap between rich and poor. Young people from poorer families and marginalised communities face many barriers to participating in sport and recreation, however the social, economic and health benefits of children participating in sport is crucial to their wellbeing and other outcomes

– Healthy food is out of reach for many families. Spending over 30% of household income on food places families in financial stress. Research suggests low-income households spend approx. 33% of their income on food, putting them above this threshold.

Together, we can lift people out of poverty and prevent homelessness.

Video update: hear how We are Mobilise’s Mobilise Pay in partnership with Catherine House has supported Annie, a single mother of four kids who faced homelessness to get back on her feet here.

Project Outcomes

Mobilise Pay tackles the cost-of-living crises faces by single-mother families addressing a key barrier for low-income families: access to extracurricular activities. Research shows children from disadvantaged backgrounds who participate in after-school programs like sport, arts, or music experience significant benefits. We expect to see:
- Increased peer connectedness/social participation of children through extracurricular activities
- Improved nutrition for mothers and children
- Improved social and emotional well-being of mothers and children, e.g. lower levels of psychological distress related to household finances
- Mothers are better able to meet immediate family needs concerning child education outcomes
- Improved sense of safety in current living arrangement

An external consultancy firm will undertake surveys and qualitative feedback to understand the success of our programs.

This is particularly important for children in low socioeconomic areas, where participation rates plummet compared to wealthier peers. Mobilise Pay's vouchers empower single mothers facing homelessness to bridge this gap.

By covering extracurricular cost alongside groceries and utilities, we equip mothers to nurture their children's potential and foster a healthy environment that fuels physical and academic growth/

For single mothers and their children, vital education and social connections significantly reduce the chances of homelessness continuing to further generations of their family.

This financial stability fosters a secure and nurturing environment, allowing children to focus on achieving their full potential.

This holistic approach levels the playing fields, allowing these children to thrive alongside their wealthier counterparts. Finally, this support and partnership approach enables much greater efficiencies in program delivery.

Budget Breakdown

TOTAL BUDGET: $100,000
FUNDING
Funding source Amount
Self-funded (unconfirmed) $50,000
In-kind evaluation (unconfirmed) $20,000
Funding Gap (unconfirmed) $30,000
EXPENSES
Expense item Amount
Energy payments $15,336
Water payments $9,000
Utility debt re-payment $8,000
Child extra-curricular fees $30,000
Fresh fruit and vegetable grocery vouchers $21,844
Salary: Operations Manager $5,000
Book-keeping $820
Contingency $10,000

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Contact Us
Level 6, 126 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne VIC 3002

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, learn and work. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Australian Communities Foundation is a proudly inclusive organisation and an ally of LGBTQIA+ communities and the movement toward equality.