Housing First - Bob Jordan speaks to Rotary Elizabeth Quay - 18 September 2019

At least 9,000 people are homeless each night in Western Australia. With no fixed address these individuals lack safety, security and a sense of belonging. Homelessness can be a choice but more often than not it is the consequence of poor mental health, financial stress and social isolation. It is an issue that is becoming ever more present on our streets. With $135 million invested in homelessness services in Western Australia annually, there is a need for evidenced outcomes based strategies to be implemented and evaluated.

This year members of Rotary Elizabeth Quay attended a number of events during Homelessness Week to improve our understanding of the issue as well as the role and reach of existing services. A key highlight was the presentation on the Housing First by Bob Jordan, an approach that has been implemented in a number of overseas locations and more recently in Melbourne, Victoria. Meeting Bob Jordan of Housing First Ireland was a truly humbling experience, particularly when he agreed to a future dial in meeting (from Ireland) with Rotary Elizabeth Quay. Bob was responsible for developing the National Housing First Implementation Plan 2018-2021 which was jointly launched by the Minister for Housing and Minister for Health in September. He was Special Adviser to the former Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government in 2016-2017 and CEO of the national housing charity Threshold from 2007-2016.

Rotary Elizabeth Quay is committed to supporting initiatives that will reduce and ideally end homelessness in Western Australia. We recognise the complexity of the problem and acknowledge the need for considerable expertise in conjunction with a collaborative and coordinated approach. Given this, Rotary Elizabeth Quay participate in the Homeless Hub working group within District 9455 and have recently partnered with the Western Australian Alliance to End Homelessness. In addition we support Michelle Blakeley’s My Homes project and continue to volunteer with the Perth Homeless Support Group.