ANGLICARE response to white paper on homelessness
ANGLICARE Sydney applauds the move by the Rudd Government to curtail homelessness in Australia through its $1.2b funding package over 4 years. “We agree with the view of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that homelessness is a national obscenity. This is a most impressive policy direction and one which should make a significant difference in the lives of families, the elderly and vulnerable young people”, ANGLICARE Sydney’s CEO, Peter Kell said earlier today.
The goal of halving homelessness by 2020 establishes fundamental policy parameters for the next decade and commits this and succeeding governments to reducing homelessness as a key social inclusion strategy. 
This White paper clearly recognises that homelessness is more than just about housing. It establishes a policy understanding that homelessness can be a cycle and addresses this through early intervention, increasing service support and exit pathways into housing.
ANGLICARE Sydney’s experience over the last decade has indicated a significant number of people with mental health issues increasingly access ANGLICARE emergency relief centres.
“The ‘turning off the tap’ initiative, which maintains no exit into homelessness for people with a mental illness’ is a particularly welcomed policy direction”, Mr. Kell said.
The establishment of 90 Community Engagement Officers will improve access for people at risk of homelessness to Centrelink services, as it is imperative that, for such people, there is an integrated and coordinated case management approach.
“It is critical that mainstream and homeless services work together to expedite pathways out of homelessness - There is currently a lack of such coordination”, Mr Kell said.
ANGLICARE supports the view that people at risk of homelessness require different accommodation models and different levels of support depending on the varying complexity of their needs. This is recognised in the White Paper and ANGLICARE looks forward to see how services will be tailored to suit individual need and circumstance.
ANGLICARE also supports the development of data and research tools to more adequately measure the number of people who are homeless since this has always been a significant issue. No one knows for certain the number of people who are homeless nationally.
“The broad sweeping aims of this White Paper are admirable - However, the challenge now will be to ensure that implementation of such a policy direction will be client focused, holistic and flexible in approach and provide effective pathways out of homelessness”, Mr Kell said.
