Federal and State Governments team with service providers to combat homelessness
Wed, 5 August 2009
The Federal, Victorian and ACT Governments have upped spending on initiatives to reduce homelessness, in a bid to meet ambitious national targets.
The Federal Government and the Victorian Government are providing $154.8 million over four years to reduce homelessness in Victoria, while the Australian and ACT Governments are providing an additional $20.2 million over four years to reduce homelessness in the ACT, as part of the National Partnership Agreement (NPA) on Homelessness.
On top of this considerable spending, an additional $54.94 million is being provided for the A Place to Call Home initiative.
The spending is sparked by the ambitious targets contained in the Rudd Government's Homelessness White Paper, of halving homelessness and offering accommodation to all rough sleepers who seek it by 2020.
Renowned for innovative approaches to combating homelessness, the Victorian Government is working with several homelessness services to instigate a range of initiatives.
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"If we get in early with intensive support we can help break the cycle of homelessness. We look forward to working with the Australian Government to make our contribution to the national goal of halving homelessness by 2020," said ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope.
"There needs to be significant change and additional resources if we are to meet our national targets as outlined in the White Paper on Homelessness," Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek said.
"Through the National Partnership Agreement, we are working to make significant progress to provide additional support for people who are, or are at risk of becoming homeless and improve delivery of mainstream services."
The Victorian and the Federal government have worked together to allocate this funding to a range of initiatives including:
• More than $20 million for early intervention services targeted at young people to help them reconnect with family, education and employment;
• More than $15 million for homelessness support agencies’ staff to be better skilled and equipped to deal with the increasing complexity and intensity of assistance needed;
• More than $26 million to enhance the mainstream service system;
• More than $15 million for responses targeting chronic homelessness;
• More than $11 million to implement new specialist services for families and children;
• More than $12 million to enhance and expand support for people to maintain their tenancies; and
• More than $20 million to support women and children who experience family violence, to stay safely in the family home.
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