Geraldton the second WA location to achieve measurable reduction in homelessness over six-month period

Geraldton has made a mammoth step towards eradicating rough sleeping, becoming the second location in WA to record a 20 per cent reduction for six consecutive months amid a housing crisis. Homelessness services in the city such as Regional Alliance West and Centacare have actively come together to improve systems and outcomes for rough sleepers, which has resulted in the tangible reduction. It is a key milestone in the Advance to Zero (AtoZ) campaign, a national initiative of more than 30 communities working to end homelessness. Communities involved in the AtoZ Campaign all aim to reach one milestone, known as functional zero. Functional zero is reached when a community demonstrates its system is routinely housing more people than are coming into it, and has sustained that state for a period of time. At the heart of these efforts is a comprehensive list of every person in a community experiencing homelessness, updated in real-time, known as a by name list. Through these lists, communities can track how many people are experiencing homelessness month over month and whether that number is going up or down. A shift occurs when a community’s by name list data indicates a measurable reduction of 20 per cent in rough sleeping homelessness for six consecutive months. The first location to achieve that reduction was Mandurah in August 2023. The second was Geraldton, which reached the 20 per cent reduction milestone this week. Geraldton MLA Lara Dalton said: “This shift is evidence of a strong and co-ordinated approach to building trust, incorporating lived experience in our response and a willingness to collaborate by service agencies.” The AtoZ campaign was established by the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness, which conducted a community consultation with relevant stakeholders in Geraldton in October. Alliance CEO David Pearson said Geraldton’s admirable efforts to end homelessness could be replicated across the nation with federal support. “Communities like Geraldton are proving that ending homelessness is possible. Their success also underscores the urgency for a united national effort and federal support to recreate such achievements across Australia, especially as we close out the year in the midst of a homelessness crisis,” he said. The Geraldton team credits a variety of efforts, including having a Housing First approach and building trust and rapport with people experiencing homelessness over time, being able to link them in with support services. While the Geraldton Zero Project has its sights set on ending rough sleeping for families in Geraldton in 2024, the broader objective is to achieve functional zero for all rough sleepers by 2025.