Below the poverty line: below the human rights line

Between March and May 2009, the HPLC directly engaged with people experiencing homelessness about human rights in Australia. We held 18 workshops at homelessness specific service providers in Victoria, consulting with 145 people.

These workshops were held in response to the National Human Rights Consultation in order to give homeless people a voice in the debate.

The following video documents two of the workshops and contains some of the views and comments of the participants. Their stories and lived experiences clearly articulate the concerns of people experiencing homelessness about the insufficient or complete lack of human rights protections in Australia.

Please listen to what they have to say.

Running time: 9m 45s

The HPLC extends its sincere thanks to the many people who participated in our human rights workshops. Thank you for your time and expertise, and for openly and courageously sharing your stories with us. 

We also extend our very grateful thanks to all members of the HPLC Consumer Advisory Group who assisted with the planning, preparation and conduct of the workshops. Finally, thank you to the homelessness agencies that hosted the workshops and the volunteer lawyers that assisted with their conduct.