Responding to homelessness
Our team
A dedicated team of people work in our community to support people who are homeless.
|
Program Director of Homelessness |
Paul Clenaghan |
|---|---|
|
Nursing Unit Manager |
Nicole Lynch |
|
Research and Project Officer Homelessness and Rough Sleeping |
Jude Page |
Our plan
The Sydney Local Health District Homelessness Health Plan 2023-25 sets out our commitment to improving health outcomes for people experiencing various forms of homelessness, including our priorities and goals to 2025.
1. Improve Access to the Right Care at the Right Time
- Understand the boarding house environment and improve health response to residents
- Strengthen data on homelessness in the District
- Support better access to oral health
- Develop new models of care: virtual outreach to people who are homeless
- Develop innovative outreach for screening and vaccination programs
2. Strengthen Prevention and Improving Public Health
- Understand and respond to high emergency department use
- Review the Better Pathways to Housing project (Mental Health)
- Support innovative outreach models to rough sleeping hotspots in the District
- Review of 'no exits to homelessness' (to rough sleeping from hospitals)
- Review earlier interventions for populations at high risk of homelessness
3. Increase Access to Primary Care
- Strengthen partnerships with community primary care hubs (Bill Crews Foundation, The Haymarket Centre)
- Develop partnerships with Street Side Medics
- Support new primary health clinics or hubs for vulnerable populations
- Review HealthPathways for homeless populations
4. Build Workforce Capacity
- Develop targeted training
- Develop opportunities for people with lived experience
5. Establish Collaborative Governance and Shared Planning
- Develop implementation plan
6. Camperdown Common Ground
- Develop a District and Mission Australia Steering Committee
- Assess residents' experiences of the current model
- Improve access to healthcare
Intersectoral Homelessness Health Strategy 2020-2025
The Intersectoral Homelessness Health Strategy 2020-2025 is developed by a Senior Collaborative Alliance, and made up of Sydney and South Eastern Sydney Local Health Districts, St Vincent’s Health, City of Sydney and the South Eastern Sydney and Northern Sydney District Department of Communities and Justice. The strategy identifies shared strategic priorities for improving health outcomes among people experiencing homelessness.
The Strategy sets out five Priority Action Areas and these five points inform this Plan:
- Improving Access to the Right Care at the Right Time
- Strengthening Prevention and Improving Public Health
- Increasing Access to Primary Care
- Workforce Capacity Building
- Establishing Collaborative Governance and Shared Planning