For Homelessness Week this year, Department of Communities shone the light on our amazing Office of Homelessness team who play a pivotal role in driving the strategic direction, securing funding and building relationships with our sector partners so that our vital services, accommodation and supports continue to support people experiencing homelessness or sleeping rough.
Homelessness is a challenging and complex issue. People experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness can face multiple difficulties and often require access to a wide range of supports and services, alongside accommodation or housing.
“The Office of Homelessness was established in 2022 and since then we’ve made progress under our All Paths Lead to a Home: Western Australia's 10-Year Strategy on Homelessness 2020-2030 (the Strategy) and the first 5 year Action Plan 2020-2025, with implementation support and advice from our Housing First Homelessness Advisory Group,” said Kathy Blitz-Cokis, Acting Executive Director.
“In 2024, our team secured record funding of nearly $140 million for critical homelessness services and initiatives across Western Australia. This funding represents an unprecedented increase to baseline and additional funding for a range of homelessness services,” said Kathy Blitz-Cokis.
To expand Housing First Support Services (HFSS), which are a key initiative under the Homelessness Strategy $15.7 million has been allocated). The HFSS are critical in supporting rough sleepers into accommodation and providing them with the case management and supports they need to sustain their tenancies.
The funding also includes $6.3 million to significantly expand Entrypoint and other homelessness referral services to ensure that vulnerable Western Australians can be connected with services and accommodation is available.
The record funding achieved is testament to the hard work, passion and commitment of the Office.
We’ve asked a few team members to share why they love working for the Office of Homelessness. Here’s what they had to say:
Nikki Bollard, Project Manager:
“Homelessness scares me more than death itself, especially as I am getting old and know that if my life was to hit a crisis, I would only be about 6 weeks away from homelessness. I love working in homelessness because I am passionate about trying to make a difference to all the people who have fallen on hard times, especially our Aboriginal people.
Our work in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation space around service design and walking alongside them is exciting and scary at the same time and more so in a regional context. It’s great knowing that our work makes a huge difference.”
Andrew Joske, Principal Policy Officer:
“Working in the homelessness space is as challenging as it is rewarding. The Office of Homelessness has such a positive mix of experience and skills that the team bring to their work each and every day. I am grateful to work in a team that is committed and passionate in our pursuit to achieve positive outcomes for Western Australians experiencing or facing homelessness.”
Tanyana Bailey, Manager Strategic Policy:
“As a relatively new member of the Office of Homelessness, I am struck by the passion and commitment of my colleagues. To work with such inspiring people every day gives me confidence in our ability to make a real and tangible difference to homelessness in our community.”
To find out more about our work in this space, visit our Office of Homelessness website.
