Are Media has launched a television commercial showing the joy of a single mother and her children as they get the keys to their new home, in the next phase of the ‘Unhoused’ campaign which calls for urgent government action to address women’s homelessness.
See More: How Are Media are tackling homelessness with the Unhoused campaign
Sarah Mills and her three young children had been living on friends’ couches and in hotel rooms for over seven and a half months as she looked for a home in the regional NSW town of Coffs Harbour after being evicted from a rental property on no grounds.
Despite being placed on a high priority wait list by the Department of Housing, Sarah and her family spent over seven months in hotels, cabins, and would drive to Tamworth to sleep on her friend’s couch when the hotels and cabins were full.
The commercial, which was created by Are Media and will air on the Seven Network, shows Sarah capturing the real reaction and emotion of her kids as they finally get the keys to their new home.
Are Media, along with a coalition of women’s sector groups including Homelessness Australia, Homelessness NSW, The Women’s Housing Company, The Equanimity Project, Lokahi Foundation, and Full Stop Australia, launched the Unhoused election campaign in March calling on both the coalition and opposition for increased funding of $7.6 billion to address the national crisis that sees 49,000 Australian women homeless each night by providing 16,810 new permanent homes for women, as recommended by the Equity Economics ‘Nowhere to Go’ report, commissioned in July 2021.
An exclusive Are Media poll found 73 percent of Australian women say their vote at the upcoming Federal Election will be influenced by a political party which is committed to provide housing for women in unsafe situations.
A petition on Change.org and the dedicated Unhoused website calling for action has already received more than 20,000 signatures, the largest ever response to any Are Media Change Agenda campaign.
Nicky Briger, editor of marie claire, said: “As the election enters its final weeks, we are continuing to apply pressure, on both sides of politics, to ensure the scourge of women’s homelessness comes to an end. This is a powerful commercial that highlights just how important and impactful secure housing is to women and their families.”
Jenny Smith, chair of Homelessness Australia said: “All Australians deserve to be in stable accommodation, but the sad reality is that women are the biggest group in our society becoming homeless, which directly impacts their safety. It’s great to see that Are Media’s Unhoused television campaign is really driving awareness around women’s homelessness, sharing stories like Sarah’s to highlight the ongoing need for better housing for women, to bring down the numbers across the country.”
Unhoused is being supported by Are Media’s biggest media brands including The Australian Women’s Weekly, Marie Claire, Woman’s Day, New Idea, Better Homes & Garden, and Australian House & Garden, which will use their extensive media assets to focus the attention of its nine million audience on the very real dangers women, face when they fall into homelessness.