“When you’ve been sleeping rough for so long, and you are presented with an offer of accommodation, we sometimes see in their posture a level of apprehension, like they’ve heard it all before. When it actually happens for them, you can see the meaningful change it has made for them; it definitely is a feel-good story.”
Darren, Outreach Team Leader, InCommunity Connect
In recent months, inCommunity Connect’s Outreach Team has been partnering with a group of like-minded service providers to deliver exceptional outcomes for Ipswich community members who have been sleeping rough for a long time. A pilot program specifically catering for people whose story of homelessness is underscored by complexities such as living with a disability, mental health challenges and sometimes drug and alcohol addiction.
So when Abigail Dixon from Q Shelter first approached inCommunity Connect about participating in our role as a specialist housing and homelessness service providing outreach services in the Ipswich region, our Team Leader for the program, Darren Hobbs, didn’t need to be asked twice to get involved.
He shares, “After returning from last year’s inCommunity Connect Study Tour, where I had been able to witness first-hand the close partnerships services deliver in Cairns, especially for Indigenous Peoples, I came back thinking, how can we build those types of connections here in Ipswich? So when Abigail made contact and outlined the pilot program for people with this experience of sleeping rough long term, we couldn’t have been happier to get involved.”
Who’s involved in this pilot program?
Q Shelter and the Ipswich City Council have brought together a range of service providers, all with different expertise, to deliver wrap-around support and outcomes for people experiencing multiple barriers on their pathway back to stable housing.
They include:
- Queensland Department of Housing Ipswich HOME (Housing, Outreach, Mobile, Engagement) Team
- Specialist Housing and Homelessness Service: inCommunity Connect (Assertive Outreach Team)
- Place-based health and social care, and other services: OneBridge, Nic Marcon (clinical psychologist) and Lotus Consultancy and Support.
- Support Independent Living (SIL) providers funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS): More Than Care and Alula Services
How does it work?
With the Queensland Housing Ipswich HOME Team and the inCommunity Connect Outreach Team working closely in partnership on the streets of Ipswich, together they will identify clients who have been struggling for a long time to enter into stable housing. Sometimes, with short stints off the streets, but always returning to sleeping rough throughout the years.
As Darren shares, “Sometimes the biggest barrier is finding people sleeping rough on the street but also supporting each person so they can get to their medical appointments and secure the health care they need. This is where the OneBridge team and the dedicated clinical psychologist step in, providing place-based health services and, in the case of Nic Marcon, can undertake a diagnostic assessment, meeting the client where they are at.”
Once eligibility is confirmed for the client to enter a SILs program, More Than Care and Alula Services become the next point of contact for the client. Both providers offer suitable, long-term housing options so clients can find a safe place to call home, where they can live comfortably while working towards their other goals for a life of thriving rather than survival.
“Everyone has clients at the centre of what each of us contributes. And when services are working together like we are in this pilot program, we’re really able to achieve so much in supporting people on their pathway to stable housing.” Darren says.
Who is it helping?
When a person sleeps rough for several years, sometimes their mental capacity to tackle the journey back to stable housing can greatly deteriorate, making it difficult for them to access and sustain their participation in mainstream programs to support people experiencing homelessness.
So when the pilot program emerged, Darren immediately thought of one Ipswich community member who had been chronically homeless for over 6+ years.
Darren shares, “He was the first person inCommunity Connect secured accommodation for back in 2020 as part of the housing sector’s emergency response for people sleeping rough during the COVID pandemic.
After I returned from two years out of the community sector in 2024, and with our organisation now having the Assertive Outreach Team, I was surprised to see he was still sleeping rough on the streets. When I spoke with him at that time, I understood his story and realised that he had struggled with mainstream housing responses.
So when this pilot program emerged, I knew he would be suitable, and it has been extremely successful with him now in long-term housing. This has been so heartening to see.”
With seven Ipswich community members offered housing via More Than Care and Alula Services so far, and with only one person voluntarily returning to the streets, the wrap-around support delivered via this pilot program is working.
An incredible outcome for people who have previously been unable to find stability in other homelessness programs, and their success in this pilot program is being celebrated by all service providers involved.
Where to from here?
With some of the pilot program service providers (pictured here) sharing their insights and learnings at the recent Q Shelter Regional Representatives Forum, interest in the program is gaining momentum from across other Queensland regions.
As Darren shares, “Having shelter is a basic human right, so to be able to support people who really had no other options available to them anymore, on a pathway to housing that is so well planned out is incredible. We would love to see other regions working together in this way.”
Momentum that is welcomed by inCommunity Connect and the rest of the team of service providers delivering this extraordinary Q Shelter and Ipswich City Council-led initiative.
