Grocon partners with The Big Issue to help homeless

Grocon partners with The Big Issue to help homelessGrocon has entered into a partnership with The Big Issue’s Homes for Homes initiative, which aims to deliver affordable housing to disadvantaged Australians.First launched in 2013, this innovative new scheme aims to “drive significant long-term change to raise funds for affordable homes, ensuring that future generations have access to safe and secure accommodation.” Under the scheme, homeowners make a commitment to donate a tax deductible 0.1 per cent of their property price to Homes for Homes at the time they sell with funds raised to go towards funding new affordable and social houses.Grocon’s Swanston Square Apartments in Melbourne is the first development to participate in the voluntary scheme. Grocon’s owners, Daniel and Kat Grollo, have donated $270,000 to Homes for Homes, which is equivalent to 0.1 per cent of the sale price of all 536 of the Swanston Square Apartments sold. At the same time they have directed that a portion of the royalties from the electricity provider for Swanston Square will be donated to Homes for Homes, which they say “will see a meaningful further contribution each year over the next five years”.Beyond its Swanston Square Apartments, Grocon has also committed to participating in Homes for Homes for all future residential developments where Grocon controls the sale outcome.”This means that, for these projects, purchasers will be contracting to enter into Homes for Homes at settlement (with an ability to opt out at any time) and Grocon will be donating 0.1 per cent of the sale proceeds on initial settlement to Homes for Homes,” Grocon said.The construction company said its aim – along with supporting Homes for Homes – is to help build a critical mass of contributors to build a sustainable source of funding to make a meaningful difference to homeless Australians over generations to come.Daniel Grollo identified homelessness as one of Australia’s biggest social issues, saying it’s a problem that governments can’t solve alone. “Homes for Homes is a great way for businesses, home owners and investors to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable Australians by providing safe and secure accommodation, and Grocon is proud to be part of this initiative,” Daniel said.Steven Persson, CEO of The Big Issue, said, “Homelessness is a significant issue facing many thousands of Australians. We have a critical shortage of over 170,000 affordable houses, and every night over 105,000 people in Australia are homeless. On top of that, more than 1.1 million Australians are experiencing housing stress.”To find out more about Homes for Homes visit here