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The Year Ahead For Mobilise

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Nedd Brockmann has forever changed Mobilise.

As a group of passionate volunteers, we were always striving to make a difference and build a platform for ourselves. Through this platform, our goal was to provide functional care and improvements in the lives of people experiencing homelessness. To use the first-hand accounts from our friends on the streets, really listen to what they have to say and what they need to get back on their feet.

We now find ourselves in the incredible position to make that tangible, and substantial positive change in the lives of those 1 in 200 Australians that experience homelessness, each and every night in this country.

Going forward, Mobilise’s work will now fall under 3 key banners:

1. Outreach

Outreaches are the core of our movement, our “point of difference” being that we spend time with those in need, prioritising connection for change.

Everyone is welcome to the Outreaches! They are obligation free volunteer events run by experienced team leaders and Outreach coordinators. We provide all the care-packages, routes and information – all volunteers need to do is bring themselves along!

Our outreach program acts as the bread and butter of what we do at Mobilise, offering us the opportunity to provide functional care, but most importantly, a chance to form meaningful connections with those on the streets

We aim to achieve our mission through outreach teams attending and speaking about their Outreach experiences in several capital cities around the country. These outreaches focus on conversation and connection to build hope and reliance with our friends on the streets.

Our focus will be on continuing to deliver outreaches while we journey deeper to understand how we can best support people experiencing homelessness. 

If you’re interested in getting involved, would like to join an Outreach or just want to learn more, follow the link here to become part of the community: Mobilise Outreach Group

2. Direct Giving

 We Are Mobilise are excited to pioneer an innovative direct giving program.

We will directly distribute funds to those who need it most. Alongside our partners, this program will provide employment opportunities and a holistic support network, serving as a platform for the next chapter in their life.

By providing monetary support during the program, We Are Mobilise can increase the chances of participants’ retention in the program pathway for 6 months. Money saved by participants during this time will be matched by us.

We are busy developing relationships with charity partners alongside employment partners and look forward to pioneering a pilot of this program in 2023.

Together, we can lift people out of poverty and empower them to exit homelessness.

 

3. Advocacy (Conversations for Change)

At We Are Mobilise, we understand the importance of driving conversations for change. Many of our friends on the street describe feeling isolated, disengaged and disempowered as their voices are not heard. 

Through conversation and direct action, we strive to make sure people experiencing homelessness are heard in discussions about their future.

Elevating the voices of people experiencing homelessness is one of the over-arching goals we constantly strive to accomplish. We do this by offering trust, companionship and conversation to those on the streets. We also provide platforms to share those stories with our partnered organisations, and university networks.

In offices across the country, decisions are made about how funding and resources are distributed to homelessness – we want to improve the involvement and engagement of people experiencing homelessness in this process.

In line with the mobilise vision, we ground our actions and publications on topics from conversations with people experiencing homelessness. Over time, after hundreds of conversations, we’ve developed a range of insights about how to make a tangible impact on those we meet.

 

 

Where to Next?

Our next evolution is to expand our outreach model. We’ll enable more volunteers across Australia to get involved in the conversation for change.

We’re building the resources, so anyone can lead their own outreaches – it’s time for people to get comfortable being uncomfortable and get out there!

The money Nedd has raised doesn’t belong to us – it’s a gift from the Australian people to people who need it most, and we’re establishing programs to put funding directly 
into their hands.

We strongly believe in respecting and preserving the agency and autonomy of our friends on the street have. This is the best way we can do that.

This will be supported by wellbeing and employment pathways, so people doing it tough can channel their energy into paths out of homelessness.

In the medium term, our Grants for Innovation program will be an opportunity for Mobilise to fund and foster ideas that address the systemic contributing factors and/or impacts of homelessness.

Mobilise is not only about proving assistance for our friends on the streets, it’s also about empowering a generation and uniting the sector along with other charity providers and services, to make a positive impact on the lives of our friends on the streets.

 Why Homelessness?

We Are Mobilise was founded based on a simple question:

“In a nation as properous as Australia, why does anyone have to sleep on the streets?”

Our outreach mission emerged from that original question and has now evolved to have monthly outreach teams in a number of capital cities across the country.

We have several categories of Homelessness in Australia, highlighting that homelessness affects people in different ways, there is: 

  • Primary homelessness: Being ‘roofless’ – living on the streets, in parks or in deserted buildings.
  • Secondary homelessness: Moving between various types of temporary shelters, such as homes of friends or relatives, or boarding houses with shared amenities and without security of tenure.
  • Marginally housed: living close to the minimum standard of housing → these people can be at significant risk as they may not qualify for some benefits.

People are pushed into acute homelessness due to unforeseen circumstances like illness, violence or being stood down at work. At this stage, if intervention occurs, people can be quickly returned to a home and hopefully resume normal life.

However, those who are entrenched in homelessness enter a cycle where they lose their home due to a lack of income, lose their income and opportunity for employment due to lack of a home, and lose their access to welfare services without a home address.

This is compounded further by worsening health outcomes and interactions with police to create what we call the cycle of homelessness. 

Here are some ways to get involved:

$4 a week donation to pledge your ongoing support of our mission:
https://donorbox.org/support-we-are-mobilise-to-make-a-difference

Learn how to have your own conversations on the street:
https://linktr.ee/wearemobilise

Join us for an outreach via our Mobilise Outreach FB Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/775571525958760

Andrew Sloman

Andrew has recently joined the Board after initial conversations with Anthony and Noah where they expressed a desire to source risk, governance and financial expertise to the organisation and would Andrew recommend anyone from his networks.

So taken was Andrew with the organisation, the mission, strategy and people that he decided to contribute himself and leverage his 30 years experience as a registered company auditor, risk and internal audit practitioner.

As a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, you can often find him criss crossing the Tasman Sea and mumbling the occasional word of Te Reo Maori. He also holds governance roles as a Board Member of the Victorian Local Governance Association and is an independent member of Risk Committees at the Richmond Football Club and the A.G. Coombs Group.

He is passionate about managing risk in sectors including charities/not-for-profits, Local Government, Sport and Sport Infrastructure, and you will find him most weekends at the MCG cheering on his beloved Tigers.

Jenna Downer

Having spent the last decade working across corporate and philanthropic partnerships, across both National Sporting Organisations, and international not-for-profits, Jenna is passionate about the human experience, believing we all have opportunity, and the responsibility to improve to world of tomorrow.

With attitude of curiosity, and a knack commercialising programs, Jenna creates value for organisations seeking to make tangible social impact, championing sustainable development principles across commercial and philanthropic partnerships. 

With a career built around relationships and networks, weekends mean are a change of pace, often spent at the dog park with a great Melbourne-brewed coffee in hand.

Trent Milvain

Trent is the Chief Operating Officer of Law Squared.

He has overseen the firm’s growth over the past eight years alongside Demetrio Zema and the business, laying and executing the firm’s strategy–from new legal and non–legal service lines to integrating teams across Australia, United Kingdom, and most recently an office in Auckland, New Zealand.

A sample of Trent’s responsibilities includes leading the firm’s culture, capability, and day-to-day operations.

His strategic approach has also led to the establishment of a Legal Technology function that provides helps corporate legal departments optimise their legal operations & technology.

Trent advises a Melbourne-based FinTech and is a founding board member for We Are Mobilse which is on a mission to positively transform the lives of those facing homelessness across Australia.

Previously, Trent worked as a Commercial Manager for one of Australia’s leading retail groups and has advised a construction firm in Melbourne.

In his free time, Trent enjoys learning and experiencing new things, spending time with friends and family, and watching live sports.

Chris King

Chris King

Chris is one of the founding volunteers of We Are Mobilise, which started in 2016 and has served as a director on the board since its conception.

Early in his time with We Are Mobilise, Chris realised the power of conversation and was troubled by the isolation that those facing homelessness felt. It became clear that the isolation was feeding a disconnect, not only from society but also from their sense of humanity; compelled by this, Chris continued to do what he could to recognise, acknowledge and help those living with homelessness.

Over the years, his role has changed from a more hands-on approach running the volunteer marketing team to a more strategic role assisting the full-time staff to grow We Are Mobilise to its most impactful state.

In his day job, although rarely just during the day, Chris is a founding employee of the creative business Bullfrog, specialising in communications, commercialisation and innovation. He primarily works across Production and Client Management for various national and international companies.

Anthony Alsop

Anthony Alsop

Attracted by the impact of multiple outreach experiences in 2022, Anthony joined the board of We Are Mobilise that year before assuming the role of Chief Marketing Officer in 2023.

His career journey spans the sports industry, with stints at the Australian Football League’s Richmond Football Club and Brisbane Lions as well as Tennis Australia, and Channel 7. Beyond our Aussie borders, he left his mark in the hustle and bustle of New York with the National Basketball Association.

Anthony’s passion is storytelling, having created documentaries, TV shows, and podcasts throughout his career. He’s not just a behind-the-scenes guy; he’s been in the executive hot seat and led communications during his tenure within the AFL. He leads our marketing function and infuses his unique storytelling into our branding, communications, partnerships, and fundraising efforts.

Off the clock, you’ll find Anthony playing basketball, at the movies, or hanging out with family and friends. Catch him in action from his appearance on ABC’s Hard Quiz for a dose of his lighter side.
Danielle Schutte

Danielle Schutte

Danielle joined the Mobilise board in 2021 after a conversation with Noah where they decided they could change the world. After 2 years of volunteering, she decided that the only way we could get there was to focus on the mission full-time, when she joined as Chief Operating Officer.

Danielle has always been interested in the big global systems that impact people’s lives every day and has built a career on trying to understand and change these for the better.

This long-time hospo worker journeyed through a Masters in Public Health, stints in advocacy, to management consulting in the health sector and a strategy at a large federal government agency.

She’s been able to use this to develop our flagship programs from scratch and build the back-end of Mobilise into a more efficient operation, and making sure we’re focussed on using technology to help us help our friends on the street. You can check out her weirder side in her passion project: a podcast mixing health technology and the healing powers of music.

Otherwise you can find her riding a scooter to a gig near you or doing circus aerial tricks (badly).

CEO Noah Yang

Noah Yang

Noah is the Founder of We Are Mobilise and currently serves as Managing Director/CEO.

Challenged by the understanding that no-one in Australia should have to sleep on the street, the Mobilise journey began when Noah and a friend set out with bags of bread to have conversations with those they met. Since that day, Noah has lead We Are Mobilise from a grassroots movement focused on assertive outreach through to an ACNC-registered national charity which has recently completed the $2 million+ Nedd Brockmann campaign – positioning it ready to deliver impact across its 3 core pillars.

Noah’s background was in management consulting and he has an inquisitive nature, passionate about leveraging commercial solutions to make a social impact.

He has coupled a diverse consulting experience with a global education, informing his passion for innovation and an eagerness to deploy an entrepreneurial approach to business building.

Outside of Mobilise, Noah enjoyed building a project called ‘ASX Investor’ – a digital media channel that amassed 25,000+ total followers and featured interviews with CEO’s from across the ASX.

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