Find a local café, drink coffee and #helpyourhood

CafeSmart is a major national campaign built on the energy and commitment of the coffee industry around Australia. It unites the community over our favourite brew to help fund local homeless services through the donation of $1 from every coffee sold at participating cafés.

According to 2011 Census data 105,000 people in Australia are without a safe and secure place to call home. The situation has changed drastically since then - for the worse. Housing affordability, domestic violence and an ever shrinking social safety net are putting more people out of their homes than ever before. Rough sleepers are the most visible people impacted by the crisis brewing in our communities – which makes it sobering to know that people surviving on the streets or in  cars and tents are just 6% of those effected.

We believe that homelessness is one of the most pressing social issues we face today and we want to do something to change this.

StreetSmart raises funds to support grassroots services who have seen their public funding shrink, while witnessing an unprecedented demand for their services. CafeSmart is a day of good will, and hard work by roasters, café owners, staff and local people who want to see things change for the better. In all, 500+ small businesses all over Australia are on board to raise funds through the CafeSmart   initiative. Together they aim to smash last year’s total of S160,523 on August 4^th and direct even more funds back into local neighbourhoods under the #helpyourhood.

CafeSmart grants pool locally raised donations and direct them back into local services and initiatives that are working on the front lines. These are services that are serving up hot meals, putting roofs over people’s heads, and providing relief packages to people in need. It is about providing a leg-up, rather than sending people packing into the cold.

“When more than 1 in every 200 people are homeless in Australia we know there is a problem. When services working on the frontlines are telling us that this  figure is likely to be much higher, and we don’t have coherent public response - that is a huge cause for concern. Most people want to do something about it, and to help people who are struggling in their own community. CafeSmart is really a grassroots movement that is giving people a vehicle to effect some change and positively impact people’s lives.” – Adam Robinson – CEO, StreetSmart Australia.

Now in its 7th year CaféSmart will be held on Friday August 4^th.

Cafés are encouraged to find out more and sign up on line at StreetSmart

Coffee lovers can find a participating café in their local hood here.

Those who want to help but can’t get to a café can donate here.

For interview opportunities with StreetSmart CEO Adam Robinson, images or further information about the projects that get funded and their local impact, please contact Joanne at Under One Roof joanne@underoneroof.com.au | 0411 199 799

StreetSmart was founded in 2003 to support and strengthen smaller, grassroots community organisations helping the homeless. These smaller organisations are critical in helping many people in crisis. StreetSmart helps out by raising funds and delivering financial grants, raising community awareness of the issues of homelessness and assisting these organisations to connect across their communities.