Homelessness Assistance at Risk

BY NINA KEMPSTER

Housing affordability and homelessness groups are frustrated at the lack of long-term financial and strategic aid offered by the Federal Government.

Leaders of over 200 community groups have signed and open letter calling on Malcolm Turnbull to save key homelessness programs from budget cuts.

The National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH) provides $115 million per year to the sector and has done so since 2009.

The funding agreement is based off a financial partnership with state and territory governments. It provides one-third of the necessary funding to run around 180 programs and services for those who are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing, homelessness.

The Executive Officer of National Shelter, Adrian Pisarski, told City Hub that the NPAH funding is vital for program reforms linking mental health issues and homelessness.

“Many of the services funded by the NPAH are ones which represent new ways of delivering services to people experiencing homelessness. People now have options when being released from hospitals where previously they may have been released straight back to homelessness.

“We have also begun addressing some causal factors like juvenile detention, prisons and child protection services often being pre-cursors to homelessness. Common Ground services have added new buildings and take formerly chronically homeless people off the streets, and often out of costly hospitalisation or criminal cycles.”

Other programs supported by the NPAH focus on improving outcomes for prison and mental health facilities, as well as supporting Indigenous Australians and women and children experiencing domestic violence.

Homelessness Australia claims that unreliable funding generates great uncertainty and has negative impacts on those reliant on assistance services; this is estimated to be around 80,000 people per year.

Mr Pisarski told City Hub that although annual refunding is damaging, so far there are no plans to extend long-term funding.

“Two years ago the refunding didn’t happen until the budget, which meant many services had begun closing, staff had left or been given notice of redundancy. It was a very disruptive time.

“The government talks about the need for reform, but to date has not engaged the housing or homelessness sectors in what reform might look like.”

Mr Pisarski remains skeptical about future reforms to the sector.

“There are potential reforms in service delivery, both for housing and homelessness, but they are embedded in the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) which is an ongoing agreement requiring all states and territories and the commonwealth to determine any reform.”

Unlike the NPAH, funding for the NAHA is permanent and does not require both states and territories. Furthermore the NAHA has been indexed to growth limits since its inception in 2009. The lack of indexing for NPAH funding has thought to be the cause of the loss of around $10 million in key funding for the Housing and Homelessness Sector.

Chairperson of Homelessness Australia, Jenny Smith, told City Hub that at Friday’s Council of Australian Governments meeting it was announced for the first time Federal Government funding towards the NPAH will be indexed for inflation.

“While this is great news, we’re still very disappointed that it’s only going to be funded for another year, when we’ve been asking for a 5 year extension as a basis to go forward,” Ms Smith said.

Ms Smith told City Hub that although the Federal Government’s reluctance to progress with long term funding strategies allegedly stem from a desire to develop further communication, the threat of withdrawing vital funding is putting added pressure on an already overwhelmed sector.

“There are talks about it being an opportunity to converse with the states and territories themselves, in order to provide support to the relevant communities. But our sector is exhausted with the increasing rate of demand. It seems unnecessary to have to fight to keep our funding when clearly homelessness is increasing and our support services are more needed than ever.

“We’re already unable to meet the needs of 320 people a day because we’re under such stress, fighting to keep what resources the national partnership provides.”

Ms Smith told City Hub the current agreement to renew funding for another year will only give temporary relief. In order to plan strategies, long term funding must be provided.

“Having had this reassurance means that [staff] can keep their heads down, get on with the mounting demand and get on with their jobs for another 6 months, before we worry again and ask for some better service strategies. It is vitally important that we stop having to argue for the services that are currently in place and start talking about long term strategies. We need to keep those resources that have been proven to work, and the Federal Government should shoulder their part of the burden of those resources.”