Elizabeth Street Common Ground

Supportive Housing Model

Elizabeth Street Common Ground

• Lack of safe housing for the most vulnerable in the homeless population

• Target group subject to exploitation, standover

• Damage to health and mental health

• Implications in higher use of high-cost emergency health, mental health, policing services

Background

Elizabeth Street Common Ground Aims of Supportive Housing

• To identify and house the most vulnerable in the homeless population who require ESCG features

• To improve their housing stability

• To improve their mental and physical health

• To improve their social connectedness

• To improve their access to employment, education and training (EET) opportunities

Elizabeth Street Common Ground

• 131 units approx - 65 of which will be for formerly homeless

• Social mix - 50% formerly homeless, 50% low income earners

• YCH undertaking Property Development and Tenancy Management

• HomeGround undertake all support and concierge functions

• Grocon undertaking Project Construction at cost, with a large range of contractors and consultants also contributing at cost

Key Features

Elizabeth Street Common Ground Principles

• Permanent - housing offering self contained, high quality housing

• Safe - 24/7 controlled access

• Affordable - with rents set at a maximum of 30%

• On site support services - to help people settle into and maintain their housing e.g case management, medical & allied health

• Social mix of tenants - ensuring a thriving community, 50% formerly homeless and 50% low income earners

Elizabeth Street Common Ground

Consisted of a broad promotion of model to services known towork with target group

• 235 phone Referrals taken from over 75 services

• 207 referrals were considered eligible

• 64 were selected for further assessment due to their: - high levels of vulnerability - long term homelessness and transience.

• Assessment forwarded to a sector intake panel for the final selection of 26.

First Intake Process

Elizabeth Street Common Ground

• 10 female, 16 male

• 4 indigenous

• Age range from 21 yrs to 57 yrs

12% under 25

36% 26-35 yrs

32% 36 – 49

20% over 50

First 26 tenants selected

Elizabeth Street Common Ground

• 8% homeless for between 7 – 10 years

• 92% homeless for over 10 years

• 100% reported primary homelessness (sleeping rough) within the previous 2 years

• 40% primary homeless at time of referral

First 26 tenants selected - Homelessness

Elizabeth Street Common Ground

• 8% with major physical disability requiring property modifications

• 36% with an acquired brain impairment

• 8% with an intellectual disability

• 44% with a psychiatric disability (either schizophrenia or bipolar, requiring ongoing AMHS case-management)

• 8% with other disability (Asperger’s & Tourette’s syndromes)

• 36% on an Administration Order

First 26 tenants selected - Disability

Second Intake Process

• Due to the high demand from the first round of intake the second round was not an open call for new referrals

• Second round consisted of reviewing and reassessing referrals from the first round, and accepting a small number of new referrals from agencies that had been unable to refer for the first round

• Information was sent out to the sector explaining the process

• All referring agencies from the first round were re-contacted, and all referrals were reviewed.

• The same intake panel will select for the second round, the panel will meet on the 28th of June.

Second Round - Clients

The second round of intake comprises equally complex andvulnerable clients as in the first round. A short list of 34assessments will be considered by the panel & consist of:

• 10 female, 24 male

• 15 with mental health listed as their primary issue, and 4 as secondary issue

• 9 with AOD as their primary issue, 11 as secondary issue

• 11 with combination of mental health and AOD

• 4 with an ABI, 2 with an ID

• 8 with a forensic history

• 3 requiring units with full disability modifications

Current Supports & Referring Agencies

A total of 24 referring agencies for the 34 clients on the short list

• 8 clients referred from post-release support services: ACSO, Brosnan and WISP-MCM

• 6 clients referred from Health Services: WRCH, RDNS, Connect-ed, Alert, Living Room

• 2 clients referred from DHS Disability Services

• 4 referred from AMHS

• 14 from SAAP/THM homeless agencies

• 11 clients have current AMHS involvement: 5 from Waratah, 3 Clarendon, 1 Saltwater, 2 Junction

Elizabeth Street Common Ground

Supportive Housing Model

TENANT MOVE IN DATE FROM 17 AUGUST 2010