With the new year well and truly underway we wanted to share some of the projects we are working on within the broader community to implement the WAAEH Strategy.
Australian Supportive Housing Project: Needs Assessment and Framework Development (WA and QLD case studies)
Supportive housing is a highly effective evidence-based strategy that combines affordable housing with intensive coordinated services. Supportive housing provides a secure, safe home and access to tailored services to meet the needs of vulnerable individuals and families, breaking the cycle of homelessness and providing a path towards economic security, well-being, and social inclusion.
Australia does not have a shared definition of supportive housing and is not readily identified within the housing system. The WAAEH in conjunction with Micah Projects (QLD) are working together to develop a Supportive Housing Framework and Demand Model (Needs Assessment) for Supportive Housing with the Corporation of Supportive Housing (USA).
Research - Evaluation and Dashboard development with CSI and UWA
Sound evidence-based progress reports are needed if we are to end homelessness. The WA Alliance to End Homelessness is working with UWA’s Centre for Social Impact to track the implementation of the Alliance's system change work towards ending homelessness. The outcome of this project will generate an active dashboard.
This project will build on previous dashboards produced by the UWA CSI for the Alliance and the information will be readily accessible and be able to be understood and used by sector agencies, government, peak bodies and the broader community.
Research - Improvement Projects & Impact Activities with Home2Health and Notre Dame
Home2Health has been engaged to work with the WAAEH to develop targeted, impact focused bespoke research and data interrogation on priority homelessness issues, populations, and system/service gaps to inform evidence-led strategies, policy, and advocacy.
This work will include data interpretation based on the WAAEH Dashboard as well as the AtoZ Data to improve data awareness and synthesis with the overarching WAAEH objectives. This research will assist with the translation of data to inform service level improvements towards ending homelessness and informed by the WAAEH Evaluation Framework and in line with our Strategy Ver2.0.
Engagement Hub Research Project with Home2Health and Notre Dame
WA Engagement Hubs provide a safe and welcoming space for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. A place where they can access essential supports and material aid and connect with services that are able to support them on their journey out of homelessness. As the facilitating body for the Community of Practice, the WAAEH is working to support a transparent and unbiased research evaluation of the value, role and place of Engagement Hubs within the broader homelessness service sector. The research will inform the Department of Communities commissioning process for consideration of ongoing government funding.