Specialist Homelessness Services program
The Specialist Homelessness Services program (SHS) is a Commonwealth/state funded program which provides funding for a range of support and accommodation services to assist people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including women and children affected by domestic violence.
These services include case management, support, outreach, advocacy, practical assistance and supported accommodation services, as well as linkages to other services such as health and housing.
In addition to the SHS program, Community Services has also contracted fixed-term services that are funded as part of the NSW Homelessness Action Plan (HAP) 2009/13, to prevent and reduce homelessness in NSW.
National Affordable Housing Agreement
In 2009, all Commonwealth/state agreements around housing and homelessness, were incorporated into the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA).
The NAHA and its associated National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness provides the overarching policy framework for Australia’s response to homelessness.
Under the National Partnership on Homelessness, the Commonwealth allocated $101.4m over four years from 2009 to initiatives designed to prevent and reduce homelessness in NSW. The NSW Government has provided funding of $213m for the same period.
NSW Homelessness Action Plan
To address homelessness and to assist in implementing the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, the NSW Government developed the NSW Homelessness Action Plan (HAP) 2009/13.
The HAP establishes a series of priorities, strate.g.ies and actions to achieve the following three strategic directions:
- preventing homelessness – to ensure that people never become homeless
- responding effectively to homelessness – to ensure that people who are homeless receive effective responses so that they do not become entrenched in the system
- breaking the cycle – to ensure that people who have been homeless do not become homeless again.
The SHS program now incorporates services formerly funded under SAAP and services funded under the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness which are administered by Community Services.
why is this program important?
The SHS program recognises that homelessness is more than a housing problem.
Homelessness has many drivers and causes, including the shortage of affordable housing, long term unemployment, mental health issues, domestic violence, substance abuse and family and relationship breakdown.
Many homeless people have little or no income and lack family and friends who can provide support. As a result they are particularly vulnerable at times of crisis e.g. young people who leave home because of family conflict.
Services funded under the SHS program aim to identify and address the range of factors that have resulted in an individual or a family becoming homeless (e.g. by helping them to access training and employment or to enter a drug and alcohol treatment program) so that the individual or family does not experience long-term or repeated homelessness.
who benefits?
The 2006 Homelessness Census Report showed there were over 27,300 people who were homeless on census night in NSW. This included families, single adults, young people, and women and children affected by domestic violence.
Most of these homeless people (40 per cent) were staying temporarily with family or friends; 28 per cent were living in boarding houses with insecure tenancies; 13 per cent were ‘sleeping rough’ (ie on the streets or in improvised dwellings); and 20 per cent were staying in SHS services.
Data on homelessness service provision collected by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that SHS services provide support to more people than they accommodate and also assist people sleeping rough, living in boarding houses or staying temporarily with family and friends.
It has been estimated that SHS services provide assistance to over a third of the people who are homeless each night in NSW.
On an annual basis, in 2008/09 SHS services in NSW:
- provided around 62,000 periods of support - of which just over 40 per cent involved providing accommodation
- assisted a total of 56,000 clients including 18,600 children who accompanied their parents to services.
what does the program deliver?
The SHS program has an increasing focus on flexible models of service delivery that respond to client need, accompanied by a move towards early intervention and post crisis support to prevent people from becoming homeless or re-entering homelessness.
There is also an increasing focus on service models that provide long term housing with transitional support.
Service models funded through SHS include:
- information and advice – this can include advice to individuals seeking assistance about how to access housing, income support or legal assistance, as well as activities to promote community awareness of homelessness.
- case management – includes assessment and case planning, personal support, counseling and advocacy (e.g. court support), and referrals to other services (health, education/training, income support) to access services and skills development. It may also include practical assistance, such as meals, transport, or provision of brokerage funds to purchase goods and services.
- crisis and transitional accommodation – there are a number of accommodation models, ranging from supported accommodation that provides case management and crisis accommodation with 24 hour on-site or on call supervision, through to supported transitional accommodation that assists people moving to independent living.
how does it work?
Over 350 non-government organisations are funded to deliver homelessness services in NSW. The program comprises:
- 150 services for young people
- 32 services for single men
- 14 services for single women
- 24 services for families
- 88 services for women affected by domestic violence
- 51 cross-target/multiple/general services.
Community Services is also lead agency for 32 initiatives under the NSW Homelessness Action Plan. These initiatives include a range of projects aimed at preventing or reducing homelessness, such as by providing support to people whose tenancies are at risk to stop them losing their accommodation.
what funding is attached to this program?
Total funding for SHS services in 2010/11 is $134m.
- 40 per cent is allocated to youth services
- 25 per cent to services for women escaping domestic violence
- 14 per cent to services for cross target/generalist services
- 9 per cent to single men’s services
- 7 per cent to services for families
- 4 per cent to single women’s services.
Projects funded under the NSW Homelessness Action Plan and administered by Community Services will receive total funding of $32.4m over four years beginning 2009/10.
what’s happening in 2011/12
The key development that will impact upon SHS program services during 2011/12 will be further roll out of the NSW Homelessness Action Plan which is being implemented through ten regional homelessness action plans.
Through the Homelessness Action Plan, the NSW Government will work to re-align existing effort, increasing the focus of the service system on prevention and long-term accommodation and support.
Over time, the SHS program guidelines and service specifications will be updated to reflect the directions of the national agreements and the Homelessness Action Plan.