United Way Sydney

New research drives collective action to address disadvantage in Sydney

Deepening disadvantage across Sydney has spurred the release of a report and an accompanying website identifying the key social and economic issues facing the Sydney Metropolitan community. The report, entitled ‘Common Cause’, is the product of a collaborative effort to combat poverty in our region, represented by all sectors of Sydney society, including government, business and the general community.

The report, undertaken by the Centre for Social Impact, is a cross-sector initiative led by United Way Sydney in partnership with a broad range of organisations that are focused on addressing social disadvantage, including the NSW Community Relations Commission, and Perpetual Limited.

“Clearly, the nature of disadvantage has changed and it’s critical that we work together to create initiatives that have a measurable impact on these issues.” said Doug Taylor, CEO, United Way Sydney.

Doug continues, “We can no longer consider poverty as simple income deprivation if we consider the facts that were revealed in the Common Cause report. For example, 35% of young people aged between 15-19 in Sydney are not engaged in education or employment, the teenage fertility rate of Indigenous women is more than four times the teenage fertility rate of all women and 85 per cent of Sydney residents live with the impact of mental illness.”

The report highlights the complexity of disadvantage focusing on six key aspects which influence our standard of living: health, education, income, housing, accessibility and crime.

"This report is a critical first step in the process of understanding the kind of city Sydney is becoming. It's good news for many, but not for all. The problems of poverty (especially post-housing poverty), social exclusion and inequality demand some urgent and creative solutions," said social researcher Hugh Mackay, Social Researcher and Author who helped compile the report.  

United Way Sydney will now be engaging in widespread community consultation to determine what Sydneysiders think is the best way to tackle these complex issues. This consultation process will involve focus groups, deliberative forums, online interactive surveys and social media to generate a conversation about the issues.

All Sydneysiders are invited to log on to www.commoncause.com.au to have access to the Common Cause report findings and respond directly with their opinions. 

The Year in Review 2008

Below is a summary of the actvities and outcomes from 2008.

2008 Year in Review