Close to 10,000 people were experiencing homelessness in Western Australia at the last census, and Homeless Healthcare believes the real number is higher. Around 1,000 are sleeping rough in Perth on any given night, and the number of women is rising, driven by the cost of housing and by rates of family and domestic violence. For a pregnant woman in that situation, the fear of losing her baby is often enough to keep her away from the services that could help her.

In this episode, Alicia Curtis sits down with Alison Sayer, CEO of Homeless Healthcare, to talk about the Together Program and what changed when 100 Women funded extra hours for a dedicated street outreach nurse.

Alison talks through what 155 referrals in under two years actually looks like on the ground, why the first 1,000 days of a child's life shape outcomes that can last generations, and the story of Annie, pregnant with her fifth child after losing custody of her first four.

This is what care looks like when it goes to where people are homeless.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why Western Australia has the highest rate of rough sleeping in the country, and why the 2021 census figure likely understates the real scale
• The two forces driving the rise in homelessness among women: the cost of living and housing crisis, and rising family and domestic violence
• Why pregnant women experiencing homelessness often hide their pregnancy from services, and how that connects to the risk of a baby being removed at birth
• Inside the Together Program: the four housing units run with Uniting WA, and the outreach nurse working to re-engage women the health system has lost
• What sits behind 155 referrals in under two years, and where they come from
• The research behind the "first 1,000 days," and why stabilising mum changes outcomes for the baby
• Annie's story: five pregnancies, four children in state care, and what changed with the fifth
• Why philanthropic funding let Homeless Healthcare pilot a service that traditional grant funding wouldn't have backed

IN THIS EPISODE

GUEST

Alison Sayer, CEO of Homeless Healthcare. Alison’s career spans the commercial sector and community leadership. She has been part of Homeless Healthcare since 2012 and stepped into the CEO role in 2023. She also sits on the committee of Impact 100 WA, which means she knows what it feels like to be on both sides of a grant application, seeking funding for vital services, and deciding where philanthropic dollars can do the most good.

HOST

Alicia Curtis, Co-Founder, 100 Women. Co-founder of the organisation since 2013 and host of Community Kind.

ABOUT 100 WOMEN

100 Women is a national giving community with a global reach. Members across Australia contribute from $300 a year. Together, that becomes $200,000 or more each year, granted directly to grassroots organisations supporting women and girls in health, education, safety, and economic opportunity, here in Australia and around the world. Every member gets a vote on where the money goes. Since 2014, 100 Women has funded 49 projects and gifted more than $1.69 million to women and girls in need.

BECOME A MEMBER

Every member gets a vote, and you have just heard what one of those votes made possible. If you would like to be part of it, we would love to have you. Find out more at 100women.org.au

SUPPORT Homeless Healthcare 
To help or find out more about Homeless Healthcare visit their website - Donations — Homeless Healthcare

SUPPORT CONNECT WITH US

Website: 100women.org.au
Instagram: @100womenaus
LinkedIn: 100 Women

 
We acknowledge that this podcast is recorded on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar in Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia. We pay our respects to Noongar Elders past and present, and acknowledge their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for and shared knowledge on this Country for tens of thousands of years, and that these connections remain strong today.

Community Kind is produced by Linette Devigan.
Hosted by Alicia Curtis and Karen Brittain.
Filmed and edited by Olivia Spear, Silver Key Films.
Recorded at The Pod @ Kaizen West, Perth.
 
 

Some women apply for more than 100 rentals before anyone says yes.

They have no rental history, because their name was never on a lease. They carry a reputation for damage they never caused. And the housing crisis has taken away what few options they had. For a woman leaving family and domestic violence, the inability to find a safe place to land is often the very thing that keeps her trapped.

In this episode, Karen Brittain sits down with Jasmyn Hutin, External Affairs and Communications Manager at Orana House, to talk about the Housing Families Program and what happened when 100 Women members put $50,000 behind it.

That grant funded one person. A dedicated tenancy advocate, 15 hours a week, walking beside women the rental market had turned away again and again. Over two years the program received 204 referrals from 63 Perth suburbs, and 64 women and 109 children moved into homes of their own. Jasmyn talks about the research that started it all, why she does not use the phrase "violent relationship", the brother and sister who gave their late mother's house to a family who needed it more, and the woman who got her driver's licence once she finally had somewhere to sleep.

This is what a grant looks like in practice.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why the three months after leaving are the most dangerous, and what "the crisis is over" gets wrong
• The language Jasmyn deliberately avoids, and the shame it puts on women who have done nothing wrong
• The research during COVID that uncovered a stigma keeping good tenants out of the rental market
• What a tenancy advocate actually does: home opens, rental resumes, cover letters, tenancy training, and family violence training for property managers
• The "connect, move, succeed" model, what "rental ready" means, and why it protects beds for women still in crisis
• The property owners who inherited their mother's home in North Perth and chose to make it part of the solution
• What $50,000 made possible: 204 referrals, 64 women, 109 children, and an independent evaluation from Curtin University
• How listeners can help, whether or not they own a property

GUEST

Jasmyn Hutin, External Affairs and Communications Manager, Orana House. Orana House has been a lifeline in Western Australia for more than 35 years, providing 24/7 crisis accommodation alongside long-term recovery support through its SWITCH centre. Jasmyn leads the Housing Families Program, now backed by an independent social impact evaluation from the Curtin School of Allied Health.

HOST

Karen Brittain, 100 Women. 
Karen has worked alongside Orana House for years, including as a mentor in its Empowered for Employment program.

ABOUT 100 WOMEN

100 Women is a national giving community with a global reach. Members across Australia contribute from $300 a year. Together, that becomes $200,000 or more each year, granted directly to grassroots organisations supporting women and girls in health, education, safety, and economic opportunity, here in Australia and around the world. Every member gets a vote on where the money goes. Since 2014, 100 Women has funded 49 projects and gifted more than $1.69 million to women and girls in need.

BECOME A MEMBER

Every member gets a vote, and you have just heard what one of those votes made possible. If you would like to be part of it, we would love to have you. Find out more at 100women.org.au

SUPPORT ORANA HOUSE

If you own an investment property, or know someone who does, Orana House would love to hear from you. Donations towards rent top-ups and bond assistance are tax deductible and go directly to women moving into their own homes. Find out more at orana.net.au

CONNECT WITH US

Website: 100women.org.au
Instagram: @100womenaus
LinkedIn: 100 Women

We acknowledge that this podcast is recorded on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar in Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia. We pay our respects to Noongar Elders past and present, and acknowledge their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for and shared knowledge on this Country for tens of thousands of years, and that these connections remain strong today.

Community Kind is produced by Linette Devigan.
Hosted by Alicia Curtis and Karen Brittain.
Filmed and edited by Olivia Spear, Silver Key Films.
Recorded at The Pod @ Kaizen West, Perth.

In this second part of their conversation, Alicia Curtis and Grants Chair Kristy Rodwell get into the substance of what makes 100 Women's grants process genuinely different. How final decisions are made when every project on the table is exceptional. Why 100 Women funds international projects when most giving circles don't. And what it means that 90% of the projects 100 Women has ever funded still exist today.

If Part 1 was about how the process works, Part 2 is about why it matters.

IN THIS EPISODE

• The difference between a donor and a social investor, and why Kristy thinks about it that way
• What goes through the grants committee's mind at the pointy end, when all the finalist projects are exceptional
• Why 100 Women funds international projects when most giving circles stay local
• The gender lens in grant making and the research that proves investing in women is the smart thing to do
• How 100 Women thinks about the operating environment when making decisions for projects 12 to 24 months out
• Why every member gets the same vote regardless of how much they contribute
• The moments from 13 years that have stayed with Kristy
• What it means that 90% of the 49 projects 100 Women has funded still exist today

GUEST

Kristy Rodwell, Grants Chair, 100 Women. Senior Grants Development Officer at Lotterywest and holder of a Masters in Social Investment and Philanthropy. Kristy has been volunteering with 100 Women since the founding year and has shaped every part of the grants process the organisation uses today.

HOST

Alicia Curtis, Co-Founder, 100 Women. Co-founder of the organisation since 2013 and host of Community Kind.

ABOUT 100 WOMEN

100 Women is a national giving community with a global reach. Members across Australia contribute from $300 a year. Together, that becomes $200,000 or more each year, granted directly to grassroots organisations supporting women and girls in health, education, safety, and economic opportunity, here in Australia and around the world. Every member gets a vote on where the money goes. Since 2014, 100 Women has funded 49 projects and gifted more than $1.69 million to women and girls in need.

BECOME A MEMBER

Membership starts from $25 a month. 100% of your donation goes directly to grant making. Find out more at 100women.org.au

CONNECT WITH US

Website: 100women.org.au
Instagram: @100womenaus
LinkedIn: 100 Women

We acknowledge that this podcast is recorded on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar in Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia. We pay our respects to Noongar Elders past and present, and acknowledge their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for and shared knowledge on this Country for tens of thousands of years, and that these connections remain strong today.

Community Kind is produced by Linette Devigan.
Hosted by Alicia Curtis and Karen Brittain.
Filmed and edited by Olivia Spear, Silver Key Films.
Recorded at The Pod @ Kaizen West, Perth.

It's the question every member asks, and the one that sits in the back of every potential member's mind. In this episode, Alicia Curtis sits down with Kristy Rodwell, 100 Women's Grants Chair, to pull back the curtain on how the grants process actually works.

Kristy is a professional grant maker by day at Lotterywest, one of Australia's largest grant making organisations. By night, she's the volunteer who designed every part of 100 Women's grants infrastructure from scratch. The guidelines, the assessment criteria, the application process, the acquittal process. Across 13 years, she has reviewed more than 1,500 grant applications.

This first episode of a two-part conversation covers who Kristy is, why she got involved with 100 Women in the very first year, and how the organisation built a grants process rigorous enough to be worthy of the trust members place in it.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Kristy's background in social investment and philanthropy, and what brought her to 100 Women
• Why collective giving was a relatively new model in Australia when 100 Women started in 2013
• What grant makers actually look for in a strong proposal
• How 100 Women balances risk and rigour when funding pilot projects
• The expression of interest process and what happens in that first review room
• Why 100 Women asks organisations for less paperwork upfront than most funders
• How volunteer expertise is matched to applications to get the best assessment outcomes
• What "sustainability" means in grant making, and why it matters for members

GUEST

Kristy Rodwell, Grants Chair, 100 Women. Senior Grants Development Officer at Lotterywest and holder of a Masters in Social Investment and Philanthropy. Kristy has been volunteering with 100 Women since the founding year and has shaped every part of the grants process the organisation uses today.

HOST

Alicia Curtis, Co-Founder, 100 Women. Co-founder of the organisation since 2013 and host of Community Kind.

ABOUT 100 WOMEN

100 Women is a national giving community with a global reach. Members across Australia contribute from $300 a year. Together, that becomes $200,000 or more each year, granted directly to grassroots organisations supporting women and girls in health, education, safety, and economic opportunity, here in Australia and around the world. Every member gets a vote on where the money goes. Since 2014, 100 Women has funded 49 projects and gifted more than $1.69 million to women and girls in need.

BECOME A MEMBER

Membership starts from $25 a month. 100% of your donation goes directly to grant making. Find out more at 100women.org.au

CONNECT WITH US

Website: 100women.org.au
Instagram: @100womenaus
LinkedIn: 100 Women

We acknowledge that this podcast is recorded on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar in Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia. We pay our respects to Noongar Elders past and present, and acknowledge their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for and shared knowledge on this Country for tens of thousands of years, and that these connections remain strong today. 

Community Kind is produced by Linette Devigan.
Hosted by Alicia Curtis and Karen Brittain.
Filmed and edited by Olivia Spear, Silver Key Films.
Recorded at The Pod @ Kaizen West, Perth.

In 2013, Alicia Curtis and her friend Megan Anderson were driving back from a youth leadership workshop in regional WA when the idea came up. What if everyday women pooled a small amount each month and gave it away together? No wealthy benefactors required. Just a community of people who believed their money could do more together than alone.

In this first episode of Community Kind, Executive Officer Karen Brittain sits down with 100 Women Co-Founder Alicia Curtis to go back to where it all began. The spark, the first social media post that brought the founding committee together, and the moment they realised they were onto something.

Alicia talks about what collective giving actually means, why philanthropy got hijacked by the wealthy, and how a $300 annual contribution (roughly a coffee a week) can become part of something that has now gifted more than $1.69 million to women and girls in Australia and around the world.

Whether you've been a member for years or you're hearing about 100 Women for the first time, this is the episode to start with.

IN THIS EPISODE

• The car ride that started it all, and the book that changed how Alicia thought about women and giving
• Why collective giving puts philanthropy within reach of anyone, not just the wealthy
• The founding committee, the first social media post, and the buzz of possibility
• What $300 a year becomes when hundreds of women give together
• Grant stories: Earbus, Telethon Kids Institute, Zonta House, and projects in Cambodia
• Why 100 Women funds projects locally, nationally, and globally, and what privilege has to do with it
• How a Perth idea became a national giving community with a global reach

GUEST

Alicia Curtis, Co-Founder, 100 Women. Youth leadership advocate, social entrepreneur, and one of Australia's 100 Women of Influence. Alicia has spent her career challenging who gets to be a leader and what everyday people can achieve when they come together.

HOST

Karen Brittain, Executive Officer, 100 Women. Karen has been part of the 100 Women community since the very first grant round in 2014, when she worked at Zonta House Refuge Association, one of 100 Women's inaugural grant recipients.

ABOUT 100 WOMEN

100 Women is a national giving community with a global reach. Members across Australia contribute from $300 a year. Together, that becomes $200,000 or more each year, granted directly to grassroots organisations supporting women and girls in health, education, safety, and economic opportunity, here in Australia and around the world. Every member gets a vote on where the money goes. Since 2014, 100 Women has funded 49 projects and gifted more than $1.69 million to women and girls in need.

BECOME A MEMBER

If today's conversation has made you curious, we'd love to hear from you. Find out more at 100women.org.au

CONNECT WITH US

Website: 100women.org.au
Instagram: @100womenaus
LinkedIn: 100 Women

We acknowledge that this podcast is recorded on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar in Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia. We pay our respects to Noongar Elders past and present, and acknowledge their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for and shared knowledge on this Country for tens of thousands of years, and that these connections remain strong today. 

Community Kind is produced by Linette Devigan.
Hosted by Alicia Curtis and Karen Brittain.
Filmed and edited by Olivia Spear, Silver Key Films.
Recorded at The Pod @ Kaizen West, Perth.