4th National Homelessness Conference Sydney March 13 2006

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4th National Homelessness ConferenceSydneyMarch
1-3 2006

• State Responses to Homelessness
• Streamlining Access to Services
• Early Learning from the Homelessness Front Door
  Trial
• Eastern Metropolitan Region Victoria
• A collaborative presentation from
• Department of Human Services, Wesley Mission
  Melbourne and the Salvation Army - Eastcare

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BACKGROUND TO EASTERN METROPOLITAN REGION
HOMELESSNESS FRONT DOOR (HFD) TRIAL

• Initiatives of the Victorian Homelessness
  Strategy
• Homelessness Service System Development Projects
• Consolidation of front-door access points.
• Improvements to service system (less
  duplication/early responses).
• Matched housing and support pathways through the
  system.
• Homelessness data collection and common
  assessment tool.
• Links from crisis transitional into long term
  stable living arrangements.

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HFD TRIAL TOOLS

• Common Homelessness Assessment Referral Tool -
  CHART
• Regional Accommodation Support Vacancy Register
• Appointment Diary
• 1300
• Help at Hand card
• Agreed service co-ordination
• Partnership Agreement

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HFD TRIAL DATA

• What does the CHART data reveal?
• Target Groups
• Risks and Impacting factors
• What information can be sought through calls to
  the 1300 number?
• What can information on the vacancy register tell
  us?

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Client Outcomes

• Service System Approach
• Transparency in service delivery
• Entering the homeless service system and referral
  pathways
• Homelessness and family Violence
• Data from CHART and Vacancy register

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Learnings for the service system

• Increasing knowledge on service operations and
  culture
• Understanding transitional housing stock and
  linking to support
• Regional based tools work well
• Service system approach for staff to achieve
  consistent service response
• Co-location of services
• Practitioners group

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Challenges ahead - Model is implemented but
service system development is an evolving process

• Enhancing trust and confidence in new system
• Equity of access for outreach support
• Further engagement of homeless services and
  related service systems
• Cyclical homelessness
• Preventing service system overload impact of
  the CHART on increasing complexity

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Challenges ahead - Model is implemented but
service system development is an evolving process

• Improving consistency in use of tools
• Out of region referrals including family violence
• Revising funding allocations to resource
  front-end functions
• Developing strategies to meet long term
  accommodation needs

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Next Steps

• Review completion in May 2006
• Recommendations to be made by consultants
• Regional office, Homeless Service System and DHS
  central office to progress implementation of
  recommendations
• Outcomes of review and statewide developments