Homelessness Outreach Service
Both the NSW Department of Housing and the City of Sydney have a longstanding commitment to addressing homelessness in the inner City of Sydney and have developed a range of responses to homelessness.
Until December 2005, the City fully funded the City Street Outreach Service, a service provided by the Independent Community Living Association. The service provided outreach assistance to people who were homeless and sleeping rough in the City of Sydney local government area. Following an evaluation of inner city initiatives in 2005, it was recommended that a single service providing support and outreach to homeless people be established.
In January 2006, the City partnered with the NSW Department of Housing to jointly fund a new Outreach and Support Service. This new service, the Inner City Homelessness Outreach and Support Service (I-CHOSS) is provided by Mission Australia and the Haymarket Foundation. The Department of Community Services has also contributed a brokerage fund for the Service. The Service has been funded for three years, with an option of two one-year extensions.
The aim of the new service is to provide outreach and support services to homeless people that will enable them to access appropriate services and long term accommodation options.
The I-CHOSS service model has three components:
- The outreach team provides services to clients who are homeless in the inner city, with a focus on ‘rough sleepers’. Services provided include assessment of a client’s need, basic health care, counselling and advice, transport, and referral and advocacy to access appropriate support agencies. Outreach workers engage with people on the streets in order to build relationships that will assist homeless people in the long term.
- The support team provides services to clients referred by the outreach team who are ready to receive ongoing support and accommodation. Services will include an assessment of client’s needs, identification of sustainable accommodation options, support to maintain these accommodation options and referral and advocacy to access appropriate support agencies.
- The specialist team provides medical and drug and alcohol services through the Haymarket Foundation, individual sessional counselling and therapeutic and group programs. Counselling and group programs may be provided by a range of locations and agencies.
I_CHOSS works closely with other sevices and agencies in the inner city, including homelessness services, in order to develop an integrated service system where all partner agencies work together to meet clients’ needs.
Contacting I_CHOSS
Inner City Homelessness Outreach & Support Service
Telephone Toll Free: 1800 505 501
7 days a week: Monday – Friday 7:00am – 10:30pm
Saturday and Sunday 9:00am – 5:00pm
If you would like to make a referral for someone who is homeless in the City of Sydney local government area, you can contact the I_CHOSS team on 1800 505 501. Please provide a detailed description about the location. The service aims to respond to the referral within 36 hours.
Many people who are homeless on the streets don’t only have accommodation problems, they may experience mental illness or drug and alcohol dependence or other disability. The service will try to work with people over time in order to build a co-operative relationship that may assist them to access help for a range of problems or issues. I_CHOSS is not an emergency service – all safety or crime or urgent medical issues should be refered directly to the appropriate emergency service by calling 000.
How do I find out more information about the new service?
For further information on this initiative, please contact I_CHOSS on 1800 505 501 or contact the Director, Homelessness Unit Department of Housing on 8753 8474 or the Manager, Community Support and Access, City of Sydney on 02 9265 9667.
