Children’s height marks—usually found on the walls of family homes—are appearing in unexpected places across Australia. To mark Youth Homelessness Matters Day, charity We Are Mobilise has created disruptive street art in Sydney and Melbourne to draw attention to the national homelessness crisis.
Created in a pro bono partnership with Droga5, part of Accenture Song, the campaign, titled ‘No Place To Grow’, uses hand-drawn growth charts—marked with the average height of Aussie children aged four to twelve—to make a hidden issue visible. Each chart carries a simple message: No child should grow up on the streets.
A QR code at the bottom of each chart directs passers-by to a We Are Mobilise page where they can donate funds to support children and their families experiencing homelessness across Australia.
The installations are designed to drive awareness of what is typically a hidden issue. Of the 28,948 children—and their parents—currently without a stable home, a small proportion are sleeping on the street. The rest are hidden—living in tents, cars, couch surfing or in out of home care.
“We wanted to find a way to make people feel the scale of this crisis, not just read about it. A height chart is something many families know. It belongs on a wall at home. Seeing one on a street will hopefully stop the public in their tracks and make them remember that every child deserves a safe place to call home,” said Noah Yang, founder of We Are Mobilise.
The idea was formed through a collaboration between multiple Droga5 and Accenture Song offices (Australia, London, Dublin and New York) and We Are Mobilise. To bring it to life, they partnered with artist and photographer Simon Harsent, videographer Nelson Bours, muralist Shaun Devenney and art studio Apparition Media.
“It’s such a beautifully simple idea that will show this issue in a new light. It’s been a privilege to help make it happen here in Australia for the creative team. Bringing it to life was a true team effort — spanning time zones, roles, and markets — and a testament to what’s possible when people across the Droga5 and Accenture Song network rally behind something they believe in,” added Droga5 ANZ creative director Lennie Galloway.
The charts are expected to remain in place across Sydney and Melbourne through 20 April. They are also being amplified with digital out-of-home placements throughout the cities with media strategy by Accenture Song.
Credits:
Client: We Are Mobilise
CEO: Noah Yang
COO: Danielle Schutte
Head of Operations: Jake Hamilton
Videographer & Editor: Nelson Bours
Creative Agency: Droga5, part of Accenture Song
Concept: Ninon Peres & Geoffrey Poulain, Droga5 London
Copywriter: Ninon Peres & Niamh Aremband, Droga5 London/Dublin
Art Direction: Geoffrey Poulain, Droga5 London
Creative Director: Lennie Galloway, Droga5 ANZ
Creative Director: Annie Egan, Accenture Song
Group Creative Director: Stephen Rogers, Droga5 Dublin
Executive Creative Director: Maria Devereux, Accenture Song
Global Brand Strategy Director, Sustainability: Kate Hironaka, Accenture Song
Chief Creative Officer: Barbara Humphries & Damon Stapleton, Droga5 ANZ, Tara Ford, Droga5 London, Jen Spiers, Droga5 Dublin, Neil Heymann, Accenture Song and Droga5 Global
Account Lead: Jenny McLarney, Droga5 ANZ
National Head of Production: Romanca Mundrea, Droga5 ANZ
Senior Integrated Producer: Katie Wellbelove, Droga5 ANZ
Senior Producer: Kaija Wall, Droga5 ANZ
Producer: Emma King, Droga5 ANZ
Designer: Kamron Lyons, Droga5 ANZ
Media: Accenture Song
Media: Nick Thomas, Christopher Colter, Sam Geer & Melissa Fein
Production:
Media Owners: JCDecaux, The Editors, Gorman Fitzroy, St Mary’s House of Welcome
OOH Installation: Apparition Media
Muralist: Shaun Devenney
Photographer: Simon Harsent, Salt Moon Studios
