Those involved leave no stone unturned in their efforts to communicate their message, stretching their services to numerous public events, advising government policy and reform, training programs, and the list goes on. They can be heard via twitter and Facebook, they have a weekly updated blog and a bi weekly e-newsletter. In addition to this they have a running online awareness campaign, and an online Prezi which provides an interactive and informative way to understand what they do. With all this coverage they are making sure we know who they are, what they do and what we can do to help. A very innovative and effective way to access young people in need of their services.
I had a quick chat with Grace Stubee, the Communications Officer at the Yfoundations office in Redfern, as I was interested in how important community involvement is to Yfoundations and also how the community can get involved. She said it’s very important, especially for young people to get involved, as they are the most important voice to be heard on the issue. They also have a blog which is there for people within the community to have their voices heard, and also to get a discussion going on the issue that involves not only people affected by homelessness but also concerned citizens.
I also asked about the extensive use of social media outlets which I came to realise serves multiple purposes – to not only educate the community, but also to gain access to people categorised in the secondary homelessness category, “people who frequently move from one temporary shelter to another”. Ms Stubee raised an interesting point, that these people are the hardest to find, and therefore need help, due to their constantly changing living arrangements. They may not identify as being homeless due to a public misconception of homelessness being confined to those sleeping on the streets.
