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From Home Furnishing Business
IKEA Australia & Save the Children Team Up to Address Homelessness
June 9,
2024 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry 
IKEA believe that everyone deserves a place to call home. A home that is safe, stable, secure and meets their needs. But every night in Australia over 120,000 people experience homelessness,” and this number is rising.
Homelessness can happen to anyone, through no fault of their own. Financial pressures, job loss, illness or many other reasons mean people can find themselves seeking shelter in places that should never have to be called a home – whether that’s a car, a tent or sleeping on a friend or relatives’ couch.
Tragically, the leading cause of homelessness for women and children in Australia is domestic and family violence.** More than 1 in 4 women have experienced domestic and family violence and 1 in 3 Australian children have experienced it before the age of 10.† Children are too often the hidden victims and survivors of this violence yet remain all but invisible in domestic and family violence funding, policy and services. Demand for support services is rising.
To highlight the rising number of women and children experiencing homelessness*, IKEA is launching ‘This is not a home’ in the IKEA Tempe store, supported by Save the Children Australia.
In a series confronting the realities, the real-life living conditions facing thousands of Australians and the reasons so many are forced to seek shelter in places that should never have to be called a home – especially for children.
For more than 30 years, Save the Children Australia has been delivering vital support for children and women leaving violence in Australia. Their refuge services provide more than just a safe home environment for families, they offer emotional and practical support – including help with safety and wellbeing, housing, parenting and child development, education and employment, legal assistance and connection with other services.
IKEA and Save the Children Australia believe all Australians should be safe in their home. Together, the partnership will:
- Create inviting spaces in refuges, so that women and children feel safe and comfortable as they begin to recover and plan their next steps with support from Save the Children Australia.
- Support women and children to move into their own housing.
- Equip women with the resources to transition out of refugees.
Save the Children Australia will collect donations at IKEA checkout and raise money in stores or online. Survivors of domestic and family violence are supported throughout their journey to long-term recovery and do not end up homeless.