Homelessness Week 2022
Housing, Health & Homelessness
Shelter WA Events
Through Homelessness Week the Western Australian community through events, other activities, media, or social media will develop a greater awareness and understanding of the nature and scope of homelessness.
People who have experienced, or are experiencing, homelessness are experts in their own experiences and provide extremely valuable insights to helping others understand the realities of homelessness and help design solutions to this challenge we face as a society. This will also inform better responses and offers for helping people experiencing homelessness. It will contribute to inclusive thriving communities, enabling people to actively engage in community life.
OFFICIAL OPENING HOMELESSNESS WEEK 2022
Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Hon. John Carey MLA, will launch (via video) Homelessness Week 2022, which aims to inspire systemic change to better respond to the health and housing needs of people experiencing homelessness. This opening event will also hear from a person with lived experience of homelessness on their personal experience of sleeping rough and the long-term consequences to their health.
COVID-19 & HOMELESSNESS: Lessons learned for future health planning
COVID-19 highlighted the importance of the intersection between health, housing and homelessness. The worldwide experience with COVID also demonstrated in many jurisdictions that with ‘political will’ we can end rough sleeping.
This session will explore the experiences of Government and non-Government services to coordinate a rapid response to people experiencing all forms of homelessness to ensure they had appropriate accommodation and access to support services.
We will ask, what did and didn’t work, what solutions need to be in place for the next pandemic and what underlying systemic changes we can make to assist people facing housing stress or at risk of homelessness and their health.
LIVED EXPERIENCE WALKING TOURS
From Monday to Wednesday, tours will be led by people with lived experience of homelessness. Attendees will walk through the streets of Perth with people sharing their insights on sleeping rough and what support they needed to survive and to get off the streets and into a home. It will be open to members of the public, government, business and services.
WA ALLIANCE TO END HOMELESSNESS DATA DASHBOARD
Join the Western Australian Alliance to End Homelessness for Ending Homelessness in Western Australia: 2022 Dashboard and Report Launch.
Director of the Centre for Social Impact at The University of Western Australia, Professor Paul Flatau will launch the latest report on Homelessness in WA and accompanying Data Dashboard Report. This will be followed by a panel session which will discuss the results and current service level responses, and will address audience questions.
SYMPOSIUM: HOUSING, HEALTH & HOMELESSNESS
International leadership and innovation in homeless and humanitarian award recipient Dr Jim O’Connell from Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program will virtually join a local panel of health and homelessness experts for a robust facilitated conversation. This session will provide a unique overview of the Australian and international strategies on the interface between health and housing to end homelessness.
GOVERNMENT & SECTOR UPDATES
Wednesday 3 August 12:00 – 14:40
The Platform, 3/256 Adelaide Terrace, Perth (and via Zoom)
The Hon John Carey Minister for Housing and Homelessness and Lands will present an update at 2:00pm on actions being undertaken by the WA government to end homelessness through the Office of Homelessness and in partnership with service providers.
Ending homelessness is a priority for the State Government. The establishment of a new Ministerial homelessness portfolio, together with the creation of the Office of Homelessness within the Department of Communities provides a real opportunity to collectively achieve better outcomes for those experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
HOUSING: CLIMATE, HOMELESSNESS, HOUSING & HEALTH
Thursday 4 August 13:00 – 16:00
The Platform, 3/256 Adelaide Terrace, Perth (and via Zoom)
Our news feeds are filled with climate change catastrophes such as floods, fires and droughts, but climate change is also having a deleterious effect on health. Many homes are not designed or built for climatic change, damp, mould, lack of insulation and lack of temperature control can impact the health of people with a home. For those with no place to call home extreme temperatures can cause heat stress and even death.
In this session, we will hear about the lived experience of extreme heat in Western Australia. We will discuss what needs to change, and how housing and homelessness service providers need to prepare to ensure housing is safe and the health of people sleeping rough are cared for as the climate changes.
LIVED EXPERIENCE ART EXHIBITION & NETWORKING
Thursday 4 August 16:30 – 18:30
The Platform, 3/256 Adelaide Terrace, Perth
‘Walk A Day In My Shoes’
| Facilitated by Artist in Residence Deborah Ralph-Kafarela and Professional Artists with Lived Experience.
Denise V Brown | Jeanette Garlett | Sean Corr
The art work for Homelessness Week will become a sculptural art installation made from multiple clay tiles. The tile designs will be embossed shoe soles and foot prints. We will encourage people to use one of their shoes to press into the clay tile as they walk in or out of the The Platform.
ENDING YOUTH HOMELESS INTERNATIONALLY
Spotlight on Youth – How Washington State are working to end youth homeless. Join WAAEH and YACWA for a youth sector update and listen in as they chat to Ashley Barnes-Cocke, Ed. M, (they/them), the Project Director of the Anchor Community Initiative (ACI) at A Way Home Washington. Ashley will be sharing learnings around ending youth homelessness in Washington State, their focus on prevention and the usefulness of a diversion fund.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT HOMELESSNESS HUB LAUNCH
Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Hon. John Carey MLA will officially launch the new Local Government Online Homelessness Hub which brings together a range of resources to support and equip local government across WA to respond to and end homelessness. The Hub was a partnership between Shelter WA, WALGA and LG Professionals supported by Lotterywest.
Links from event
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