Ask Izzy app connects the homeless to food, shelter and health services

THE homeless and those most at risk in society now have access to the most comprehensive homeless directory in Australia.

THE homeless and those most at risk in society now have access to the most comprehensive homeless directory in Australia.

Ask Izzy, a free mobile website and app, is a location-based online directory designed to link the one in 200 Australians who find themselves homeless each night without food, shelter, health and other vital support services.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull launched the initiative, describing it as a combination of technology, innovation and great love, on Friday at the Salvation Army Headquarters.

“Love of our fellow man, love for those worse off, love for the homeless,” Mr Turnbull said.

He said the 24/7 information service would give people in need the ability to learn in a few seconds what would have previously taken years to learn on the streets.

“There is nothing lonelier than being homeless … sense of connection is a critical thing. It’s a means for people to find a connection,” he said.

Ask Izzy is a mobile website designed to assist homeless people. Picture: Supplied

Around 2.5 million people over the age of 15 experience homelessness at some point in their lives, with just over a third of these people driven out of their homes and into poverty as a result of family or domestic violence.

The site, developed by not-for-profit Infoxchange in partnership with Google, REA Group, and News Corp Australia, gives people access to more than 350,000 services across the country.

About 80 per cent of homeless people have a mobile phone and 75 per cent have a smart phone, according to the latest data from service providers and University of Sydney research.

Infoxchange chief executive David Spriggs said the site was two years in the making and was co-designed and tested by people who had experienced homelessness.

He said 1200 service providers would be briefed about the site to inform those most in need.

Ask Izzy is free and completely anonymous.

Originally published as Ask Izzy app connects the homeless to food, shelter and health services