• Origami houses highlight crisis

Salvation Army staff and volunteers gather on the steps of Victorian Parliament House to advocate for adequate and appropriate social housing across the state.

BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE

The Salvation Army has joined other service providers across Victoria in advocating for more social housing to meet the increasing needs of thousands of Victorians.

The event on 31 July featured 6000 colourful origami houses, each paper house representing 10 social houses required to meet the needs of the almost 60,000 Victorians on the Victorian Housing Register. The yearly event is a chance to campaign for the building of appropriate housing options in a rapidly worsening housing crisis.

Representatives from service providers, including Melbourne City Mission, Sacred Heart Mission, VincentCare and The Salvation Army attended the event, which featured an address by the Minister for Housing of Victoria, the Honourable Harriet Shing MP.

“Today’s an opportunity for us to commit and recommit to providing the resources, support and engagement to help those who are already working so hard across this sector and to make sure that everybody has a place to call home,” Harriet said in a reel from the event.

The event was also attended by State politicians, including Member for Hawthorn and Leader of the Opposition the Honourable John Pesutto, Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan, Member for Eildon Cindy McLeish and Member for the South Eastern Metropolitan Region Lee Tarlamis.