Advocates call for better responses to homelessness in Canberra

Releasing a new report on the collaboration of homelessness agencies and mainstream government services on Friday, the Housing and Homelessness Policy Consortium will call for better sharing of information, regular communication across service areas and new practices for effective responses to vulnerable members of the community.

The group includes ACT Shelter, the ACT Council of Social Service, the Women's Centre for Health Matters and Youth Coalition of the ACT. Their recommendations span the range of government service provision and policy making, including health; education, justice, employment and housing.

The group is seeking job creation through capital works and government infrastructure projects, specific pathways for vulnerable and disadvantaged job seekers and a new plan for social and affordable housing considering capacity to pay in the Canberra market.

The report calls for better integration of social and economic policy levers "to ensure employment and housing adequately address the structural deficiencies that lead to socio-economic disadvantage and homelessness".

Collaboration from within the sector could see better service of clients' needs, better training and support of staff, effective record keeping and new feedback to government.

"We can reduce, respond better to and address risks for repeat homelessness if we increase access to mainstream services by people who are or have experienced homelessness," the report said.

"The ACT government should commit to the continuation and expansion of funding for the Supportive Tenancy Service to increase its reach into the private rental market, recognising the benefits of tenancy support to government, landlords, real estate agents and tenants."

Strategies included in the report include online tools for linking service providers, the creation of shared funding and assessment approaches across government and an expansion of the Human Services Gateway program.

An effective through care model could benefit all people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of it, and assigning lead case workers to work with individuals and families at varying levels of intensity would provide better integration to human service providers.

The report follows a review of ACT and national literature on collaboration of homelessness services and mainstream providers, data on the problem, a public forum held in March and in-depth interviews with people who have accessed existing services.

It found many Canberra citizens lack access to high quality mainstream services such as primary care, hospital care and school age education available in this city, therefore missing out on their benefits. Many people miss access to targeted services early enough and for long enough to benefit.

The report also called for improved approaches to increasing the availability of crisis, short-term and emergency housing in Canberra, recognising the effect of the current shortage on government and community services.

The government should investigate the potential for rental subsidies in addition to public housing investment, it said.

ACT Shelter chief executive Travis Gilbert said people experiencing homelessness require access to a wide range of community and health services.

"It is more expensive to maintain people in a state of homelessness than it is to rehouse them quickly," he said. "Homelessness can happen to anyone. Ending homelessness is everyone's responsibility."

ACT Council of Social Service director Susan Helyar said mainstream health, education, employment, and financial assistance services needed to play a role in helping people recover from homelessness.

"This report provides clear advice on how to implement whole-of-government responsibility for homelessness which includes reporting requirements and minimum funding requirements for each ACT government directorate."