Homeless Service Integration: What makes a difference?

1. Homeless Service Integration: What makes a difference? Sue Cripps Director Homelessness, Mental Health & Disability Catholic Community Services NSW/ACT

3. Homelessness strategies as drivers of integration • England: • The Government committed to tackling and preventing homelessness, working in partnership with voluntary sector partners, local authorities and housing associations. • Scotland: • Scotland adopted ambitious strategy to combat homelessness to give every unintentionally homeless person the right to settled accommodation. • United States of America: • Three strategies with strong mandated ability to influence and drive changed service responses across a broad range of government programs, with mechanisms to report back to cabinet and government executive on implementation progress

4. Building a culture of integration • Leadership by Government Executive • High level sponsorship within government agencies • Building an evidence base through research and trialling new models • Requires a supply of affordable housing to support policy implementation • Utilising local expertise to drive strategic reform • Invest in and develop emerging leaders in the non government sector

5. Building the evidence base • Need for robust data about the numbers affected by homelessness so that investment and resources could be targeted affectively • Data on the service utilisation patterns of persons who experience homelessness has potential to inform design of policies and programs that affect the incidence and duration of homelessness • Evidence of the use of multiple service systems may identify how mainstream systems may be contributing to homelessness

6. Critiquing three service models identified for co-ordinated service provision • Single agency providing housing and support services • Two agency (housing provider and support provider) • Partnership (managing agency and a number of housing and service providers)

11. Lessons Learnt • For effective systemic change to occur regarding how services are delivered, leadership at the highest level of government (Prime Minister or President) is vital. • To create models of service integration, investment must occur to assist the change management process across government and the non-government sector. • Investing in the development of emerging leaders in the homelessness field to build a strong group of leaders operating within contemporary management and social policy frameworks is crucial.

12. Lessons Learnt cont … • Sound policy development and investment of tax payers’ dollars requires solid data to inform modeling. • Strong data regarding the services used by homeless people highlight opportunities for integration and collaboration as a means of responding to and preventing homelessness as effectively as possible. • Mechanisms to support integrated planning at the regional level are crucial to building a culture of integration and change management.

13. Maintaining momentum • Engage the broader community in ending homelessness • Maintain investment – change is not cheap • Support a culture of change management - establish a training program with emerging leaders within the homelessness and housing fields • Maintain investment in homelessness research within Australia

14. Final Thought "The truth is there are no silver bullets, only struggle moving forward for a just and better way. I often feel we are hampered by those who propose cure-alls and are better served by those willing to wrestle complexity."