Minister for Family and Community Services today announced that the St Vincent de Paul Society will administer a new service to rapidly rehouse people who frequently use Temporary Accommodation in Penrith and Mt Druitt.
Ms Goward said the Rapid Rehousing service responds to people who repeatedly use Temporary Accommodation such as motels and who need help to achieve a long-term housing solution in private rental accommodation.
“Temporary Accommodation was never designed to be a long term solution for clients – it is an emergency and last resort assistance to provide safe, short-term accommodation for those who are homeless, while they find other accommodation,” Ms Goward said.
“The Rapid Rehousing trial service will test if this type of response works well to secure long term accommodation for this client group.
“Mt Druitt and Penrith were chosen as locations to establish the Rapid Rehousing service due to the high numbers of frequent users of Temporary Accommodation in the area. The project will initially target 60 clients in each area.
“In 2011-12, there were 738 clients in the area who required temporary accommodation on more than five different occasions. The service will also be tested in the Coffs Harbour area, where it will be delivered by New Horizons.
“The St Vincent de Paul Society has a clear understanding of the objectives of the Rapid Rehousing service and the outcomes we need to achieve. They will provide a swift response to people by engaging them within 24 hours of entering Temporary Accommodation and have a rapid response plan in place within 48 hours.
“The rapid response plan will identify the steps that the person needs to take in order to locate and access a private rental property. For example, they may need help with rental applications, obtaining ID or other documentation, mentoring, dealing with real estate agents, and accessing Housing NSW services such as a Bond Loan.
“The rapid response plan will also identify a range of services that the person needs to help them manage their move into the private rental market and St Vincent de Paul will continue to work with them over a four month period to help them sustain that tenancy,” Ms Goward said.
Stuart Ayres, the Member for Penrith welcomed the Rapid Rehousing initiative. It will ensure that Penrith’s most vulnerable people are matched with appropriate levels of support to avoid becoming homeless and reducing their reliance on crisis accommodation
The Rapid Rehousing initiative has been funded under the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness which is a Commonwealth and State Government Agreement.
