Moreton Bay community works together to tackle homelessness

A crisis response for young people who are homeless, partnerships with real estate agents to maintain tenancies and help with obtaining proof of identity are just three of the projects in Here to Home, the Homelessness Community Action Plan for Caboolture, Morayfield and Deception Bay.

More than 46 Community service organisations, government agencies and community members have worked together to plan and start implementing a set of 18 concrete actions and targets that will reduce homelessness in the region.

Launching the plan in Caboolture today (Tuesday), Queensland Council of Social Service CEO Mark Henley said a great number of people had worked for more than a year to develop the plan. “We’ve had all levels of government, all types of community service providers and, most importantly, people experiencing or at risk of homelessness,” says Mark.

“Many of the actions listed in the plan are already underway. They focus on local solutions for the specific problems being experienced in the area.”

The Caboolture – Deception Bay corridor was selected as one of seven regions to take part in the Queensland Homelessness Community Action Plans project because it has a high level of need and a small homelessness and human service system that would benefit from enhanced and resourced planning and coordination.

“This was a real opportunity to develop genuine partnerships between government and non-government services and to create joint and coordinated responses,” says co-chair of the Action Plan Implementation Group and manager of Caboolture Neighborhood Centre, Mal Thomson. “We committed to a range of very concrete actions and set targets that we will need to meet over the next fifteen months.”

Actions in the plan include:

-      Early intervention with young people and their families to keep them at home

-      Transition supports for people exiting prison, state care and hospital to ensure they do not become homeless

-      Engaging with real estate agencies to help support tenancies

-      Supporting people experiencing domestic violence to find or maintain appropriate housing

-      Supporting people who are sleeping rough to transition into sustainable housing

-      Developing a coordinated response for anyone needing help with housing and homelessness

-      Supporting people to obtain and safely keep identity documentation required to receive support services.

-      Targeted training and employment pathways for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness

Three projects from the plan that are already underway and producing outcomes were showcased at the launch. See attached fact sheet for details.

Mark Henley 0448 075 087, Tanya Hall 0430 481 099

Mark Jeffery 0419 732 583, Ian Wynne 0414 643 122

Jenny Whitworth 0417 779 819