I Am Somebody

Media release – City of Hobart, 2 August 2022

Homelessness Week 2022

Housing issues continue to maintain a grip on the greater Hobart community, with the plights of several people struggling with homelessness to be featured in the 2022 I Am Somebody project, launching at the State Cinema on Tuesday 2 August.

Highlighting the human impact of Homelessness, the project coordinated by the City of Hobart is a part of Homelessness Week 2022.

I am Somebody is a series of powerful interviews with people who have recently or who are currently experiencing homelessness, within southern Tasmania. Each story highlights the reality and experiences of these individuals as they share their stories.

Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds, who is the convenor of the Greater Hobart Homelessness Alliance, said that the project highlights the City’s role in raising community awareness as part of Homelessness Week

“Each of these interviews highlights the issues that people experiencing homelessness face,” Lord Mayor Reynolds said. “These moving interviews give voice to the highly personal challenges faced and demonstrates the strength and hope that people in our community have.”

Created in coordination with members of the City’s Housing with Dignity reference group as well as local support services such as City Mission and the Salvation Army, the project was extended this year to incorporate Clarence, Glenorchy, and Huon Valley Councils.

“The expansion of this program highlights the growing issue of homelessness in our region and that the reality this is something that we all need to tackle together,” Lord Mayor Reynolds said.

“The statewide Homelessness Week theme of ‘Housing Ends Homelessness’ highlights the need for more affordable housing as a core foundation to addressing the housing shortage.

“The City of Hobart has long recognised its role in supporting the homelessness sector and we are always looking to strengthen our partnerships and maximise opportunities to work more closely with the sector and the Tasmanian and Commonwealth governments in order to achieve enduring solutions.”

“The City has worked very closely with the community sector on projects that have had a direct and positive impact on people experiencing homelessness. This has included working with the Hobart City Mission to support the Safe Night Space since early 2019, funding St Vincent de Paul for the provision of survival packs for distribution to people sleeping rough as well as training and resources for City of Hobart staff.

“The Hobart Helps card is another way that the City supports community members in need. Also available for mobile devices, the pocket size resource provides contact details for city based services that can provide accommodation, food and health and wellbeing assistance. This is the second year we have published the cards, which have been expanded to include new services.”

The City of Hobart, along with a number of other local governments across Tasmania, will also be lighting many of its city assets purple, to highlight Homelessness Week.

To learn more about the City of Hobart’s action on homelessness, the I am Somebody project and the Hobart Helps card visit the City of Hobart website.