Mercy Foundation Australia

25/08/2026

Last week, Mercy Foundation Australia welcomed Mercy Partners Australia to commission the new CEO, Maeve Brown, new Chair, Kevin Gardner, and new Board Directors, Brian Bissaker and Peter Knoblanche.

The commissioning ceremony was a significant moment, affirming our shared commitment to advancing the Mercy Foundation mission and responding to the needs of the communities we serve with compassion, courage, and integrity.

We were also grateful for the opportunity to participate in a Board formation session on discernment facilitated by Mercy Partners. The session provided valuable insights into the practice of discernment, encouraging thoughtful reflection, deep listening, and collective wisdom in decision-making.

As we begin this new chapter, we do so with a strong sense of purpose, guided by discernment, collaboration, and the enduring values of the Mercy tradition.

📸 Peter Knoblanche, Nicole Christensen, Sr Bernadette Mansour RSM, Maeve Brown, Louwana Saba, Brian Bissaker, Jane van Beek, Kevin Gardner, and Jon Anderson

10/08/2026

As this comes to a close, we're shining a light on the power of turning under-utilised spaces into safe, affordable homes. 🛠️ 🏠

Through Habitat for Humanity Australia's - Empty Spaces to Homes initiative, supported by Mercy Foundation Australia in 2025/26, vacant and underused properties were refurbished and transformed into housing opportunities for women, children and young people facing housing insecurity and/or domestic and family violence.

The project delivered improvements across 10 accommodation units, creating safer, more dignified places to live and helping expand the supply of affordable housing at a time when it's needed most.

The impact was significant:
🏠 33 women, children and young people escaping violence avoided homelessness
🏠 25 low-income female students accessed quality, affordable accommodation
🏠 58 people had homelessness prevented or ended through the project
🏠 580 hours of paid, skilled employment were created through Habitat Women, supporting women facing barriers to employment.

The project also demonstrated the potential of the Meanwhile Use model, where vacant properties can be repurposed as safe, affordable homes while they are awaiting redevelopment or other future uses. Success depends on collaboration between property owners, community organisations, funders and government.

As we mark the end of , we are calling for greater support for innovative housing approaches that:
✅ Unlock underutilised properties for housing
✅ Increase the supply of affordable and transitional accommodation
✅ Support women and children escaping violence
✅ Invest in partnerships that deliver community-led housing solutions at scale

08/08/2026

Housing is only the first step. Keeping it matters too. 🏠 🤝

This , we're highlighting an important truth: ending homelessness doesn't stop when someone gets a home.

Through St Kilda Community Housing's - Ending the Churn Pilot, funded by Mercy Foundation Australia in 2025/26, 12 women at high risk of tenancy breakdown received intensive, trauma-informed support designed to help them stay housed and avoid returning to homelessness.

The result? 100% of participants remained housed throughout the project.

The project supported women facing complex challenges including family violence, financial hardship, mental health, and social isolation. By providing flexible, relationship-based support, tenancy risks were identified early and addressed before they escalated into crisis.

The project showed that early intervention, flexible support and strong relationships can prevent tenancy failure and reduce the risk of homelessness before it occurs.

One of the strongest lessons from the project was that housing stability is about more than accommodation alone. Many women experienced significant social isolation after being housed, reinforcing the need for connection, community and ongoing support alongside secure housing.

This Homelessness Week, we're calling for greater investment in programs that support people at-risk to sustain their tenancies and that help people stay safely housed for the long term.

07/08/2026

Domestic and family violence is the leading cause of homelessness in Australia and our organisation sees the devasting impact that it has on migrant women and children. After leaving a violent and abusive home, women and children are commonly placed in financial destitution and find themselves homeless. This week is Homelessness Week https://homelessnessnsw.org.au/event/homelessness-week-2026-beyond-crisis-reimagining-our-homelessness-system/ and we want to take a moment to thank the numerous sponsors who support our work, including the Mercy Foundation's https://www.mercyfoundation.com.au/grants-awards/grants-to-end-homelessness/
We had pleasure of sitting down with Mercy Foundation CEO Maeve Brown last Thursday to discuss the work we have been doing in supporting women as they rebuild their independence after surviving abuse. Through our employment program, we provide personalised support and skill building to help women become job-ready and find meaningful, long-term employment.

Many of the women we support are temporary visa holders who face a number of uncertainties with their visa status, with some clients having no work rights which greatly restricts their ability to be financially independent and participate fully within society. We also see a number of women battling mental health as they overcome trauma from abusive relationships. These mental health challenges often manifest as physical pain in the body, which for some of our clients, is an ongoing and chronic issue that creates further barriers to finding suitable employment.

Despite facing so many barriers, the women we work with are strong, resilient, and determined to contribute and grow. We are proud to walk alongside them as they move toward financial independence and a more secure future.

07/08/2026

A safe home starts with a stable income. 🏠 💵

This , we're recognising the role that income support plays in preventing homelessness.

Through Welfare Rights Centre NSW's project, From Crisis to Stability, 90 migrant and refugee women received specialist support to access social security entitlements, resulting in more than $780,000 in financial benefits and helping women at risk of homelessness maintain housing stability.

For women escaping family violence, newly arrived in Australia, or navigating complex social security systems, access to income support can be the difference between maintaining a tenancy and losing a home.

The project also trained 652 community workers, strengthening the sector's ability to identify issues early and help vulnerable women access the support they need before financial hardship becomes homelessness.

This Homelessness Week, we're calling for continued investment in specialist advocacy, social security access, and early intervention services that help prevent homelessness before it occurs.

When women can access the income support they're entitled to, they gain the stability needed to stay housed, rebuild their lives and plan for the future.

06/08/2026

Access to information can prevent homelessness. 📻 🏠

This , we're recognising that preventing homelessness begins with access to information.

Through 2MFM - Muslim Community Radio's Path to Stability project, women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were connected with practical information about housing support, tenancy rights, financial counselling, domestic and family violence services, employment pathways and crisis accommodation through a multilingual radio and podcast series funded by Mercy Foundation Australia - 2025/26 Grants to End Homelessness.

The series reached an estimated 87,000 listeners each week, helping break down barriers often faced by migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking women, including language barriers, stigma, and limited awareness of available support services. The broadcasters even won a National Ethnic Multicultural Broadcasting Council award for the series! 👏

By sharing expert advice alongside lived experience stories, the project empowered women with the knowledge and confidence to seek help earlier and make informed decisions about their housing and wellbeing.

This Homelessness Week, we're calling for greater investment in culturally appropriate, multilingual and community-led approaches that ensure everyone can access the information and support they need before housing insecurity becomes homelessness.

06/08/2026

A safe home can change everything. 🏠

This , we're highlighting the power of housing, dignity and opportunity and the vital work of some of Mercy Foundation Australia 2025/26 Grants to End Homelessness recipients.

Through House of Welcome's Women's Pathways to Independence program, 13 women and children experiencing or at risk of homelessness were supported to transition into private rental housing and financial independence.

Many participants were from refugee backgrounds or were in the process of seeking asylum and had experienced domestic and family violence and faced barriers to accessing traditional housing supports.

Through safe accommodation, wrap-around case management, employment support and trauma-informed care, they were able to rebuild their lives and plan for the future.

The results speak for themselves:
🏠 100% transitioned to safe, stable housing
💜 100% reported improved safety and wellbeing
🌱 100% reported greater confidence in achieving their life goals

Together we can end homelessness. With the right support at the right time, women and children can move beyond crisis, build independence, and thrive.

This Homelessness Week, we call for continued investment in housing pathways, trauma-informed services, and long-term solutions that help end homelessness for good.

04/08/2026

The right support at the right time.

As we mark , we're reminded that for many women and children escaping domestic and family violence, the risk of homelessness doesn't end when they leave a refuge. The journey to safety often depends on being able to secure stable, affordable, long-term housing.

In 2025, the Mercy Foundation was privileged to fund the Women & Children's First's Fast Track to Independence program, which has since helped 12 women and 18 children move from crisis and temporary accommodation into safe, secure homes.

For families rebuilding their lives after violence, the biggest barriers are often the practical costs associated with establishing a new home, including rental bonds, utility connections, removal costs and essential household items. By providing flexible support at this critical point, the program helped remove obstacles that can otherwise place families at risk of ongoing housing instability or future homelessness.

The project reinforces an important lesson: targeted, timely investment can prevent homelessness before it happens. When women and children have access to the right support as they transition out of crisis accommodation, they are far more likely to achieve lasting housing security and independence.

This Homelessness Week, we highlight the importance of investment in prevention-focused responses, flexible brokerage funding, and affordable housing solutions that enable women and children to build safe, stable futures.

27/07/2026

🎨 Mercy Youth Awards 2026 – Entries Now Open

The Mercy Foundation is proud to launch the 2026 Unity Through Art Competition, inviting secondary school students to use their creativity to explore the power of unity, compassion, and social justice.

This year's theme encourages young people to reflect on how unity can bring people together to address social issues, particularly to support those impacted by homelessness, mental health challenges, and social isolation. Through art, students have the opportunity to raise awareness, inspire understanding, and become advocates for positive change.

We are continually inspired by the creativity, insight, and compassion of young people, and we look forward to seeing their unique perspectives brought to life through this year's entries.

📅 Entries close: 10 August 2026
🌐 Find out more and enter:

About the AwardHow to EnterClosing DatePrizesPast Winners About the Award The Mercy Youth Awards is an annual competition aimed at ...

23/07/2026

Mercy Foundation Australia supports calls from the Housing and Homelessness Sector, including from our newest Board Director, Erin Longbottom, for a greater commitment to ending rough sleeping.

Homelessness is solvable. What is needed now is the courage to act, the commitment to invest, and the evidence-based policies that put housing and support within reach for everyone.