A circuit breaker: government backs down in fight over Victorian rough sleeper program

After the death of her older brother in a police pursuit when she was 14, Harrison says she has battled drug addiction and floated in and out of crisis accommodation before inevitably returning to rough sleeping.

The state government backed up that initiative with the From Homelessness to a Home program (H2H), a $150m investment drawing on the values of the progressive Housing First model that has gained international recognition after it was pioneered in Finland.

Smith calls the shortfall a $45m cut, a claim disputed by the Andrews government, which says the program had only ever been intended to receive elevated funding during the pandemic.

Smith says H2H should be expanded, pointing to the fact there are about 9,000 rough sleepers in Victoria.

The Victorian Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Framework found the rate of Aboriginal people presenting to homelessness services rose to 17% in 2019-20, an increase 10 times the rate of other Victorians seeking support.

About 300, or 16%, of the 1,845 H2H households are Aboriginal, including Harrison.

After bouncing around, Harrison is now in her own place in Port Melbourne.

That has included an offer of assistance with sourcing appliances and furniture when she moved in, helping her keep a stocked pantry and navigating government bureaucracy like the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Harrison has an intellectual disability and lives on a disability pension.

Importantly, the support has continued after Harrison had settled in.

The program has faced some hiccups, with residents in some apartment blocks where H2H clients lived complaining about anti-social behaviour, highlighting the complexity involved in rolling out the scheme when social housing stock is limited. Providers also found it difficult to source properties due to the tight rental market.

But homelessness agencies believe the program has been a success so far and reducing funding is hardly a solution.

Trudi Ray, the deputy chief exectuive of Haven Home Safe, a H2H provider in the Loddon Mallee and Barwon regions, points to one man who had been homeless.

Harrison says she recently finished a six-week art course and has sought treatment for addiction. She hopes programs like H2H are expanded.