Brophy Family and Youth Services
Education
A collaborative response to youth disengagement in regional Victoria
Case Study: BeyondHousing
ProjectKeeping Home
Amount$196,440
Date2019
ProgramCommunity
| TRUST OBJECTIVES | PROJECT OBJECTIVES |
|---|---|
| Rural and regional Victoria | Building financial and tenancy resilience of regional/rural people vulnerable to homelessness |
| Reducing inequality | Reducing financial inequality through improved money management and developing disadvantaged peoples’ understanding of their tenancy rights |
| Enabling financial sustainability | Focussing on the budgeting and living skills needed to practically manage a household on a limited income |
| Building organisational capacity | Developing the resources and in-house skills to deliver the program on an ongoing basis. Online resources will benefit the state-wide community sector |
| Collaboration and partnership | Hume Region Homelessness Network representing 14 member agencies, Beechworth Correctional Centre, Albury Wodonga Ethnic Communities Council, Women’s Health Goulburn North East, CVGT Employment Services, and local real estate agencies |
A practical targeted education program develops resilience to prevent homelessness
Rental prices are increasing, and there is decreased availability of public housing. As a result, people on low incomes are being encouraged to access private rentals which are increasingly unaffordable. Keeping Home aims to build capacity in disadvantaged regional Victorians to manage a tenancy on a low income by focusing on budgeting, financial resilience, tenancy legislation and living-skills - all drivers of recurring homelessness.
Image BeyondHousing’s Keeping Home program will deliver a new face-to-face and online education program that builds skills and knowledge about housing among people who have experienced or are at risk of homelessness. Photo: BeyondHousing.
BeyondHousing provides support, housing and advocacy for people at risk of homelessness and those in private rental experiencing housing stress. Keeping Home will build financial and rental capacity and resilience in regional Victorians. The goal of this practical, hands-on program is to equip people who are at risk of becoming or have been homeless with the skills to break the cycle and maintain their housing in the future.
Snapshot:
- Keeping Home brings together three different programs covering financial resilience and budgeting, tenancy rights and responsibilities, and living skills in a coordinated early intervention package.
- It draws on existing resources and will develop additional materials as required with a focus on maintaining housing on a low income in rural and regional areas.
- Each component will have a suite of materials, activities, learning modules and online interface that is specifically tailored to support people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
- Recognising that many of BeyondHousing’s clients may have poor literacy and minimal access to the internet, content will be explained and delivered in person in a series of one-on-one and group sessions.
- All service delivery staff will be trained to deliver the modules and include the content in their existing processes, making ongoing provision sustainable.
- Beyond Housing is collaborating closely with a number of stakeholders including Beechworth Correctional Centre which will facilitate the delivery of all modules to pre-release prisoners and assist in content development, and Centre Against Violence which is assisting with content, program referral and facilitation of group focus sessions as appropriate.
- Local key real estate agents have agreed to promote active and positive engagement with prospective and existing landlords.
“Offering this specialised and very targeted program to people on low incomes will assist them to secure and maintain their housing on their own. Unlike other existing programs, this will link directly to tenancies and housing.” Linda Grellman, Hume Region Homeless Networker.
