Assertive Outreach Service to provide support to Rockingham's most vulnerable

The City of Rockingham has signed a contract with St Patrick’s Community Support Centre to deliver an assertive outreach service which is set to provide support to people experiencing homelessness in the community.

Assertive outreach involves integrating various services, support and case management in a flexible manner to help people experiencing homelessness.

St Patrick’s Community Support Centre, which is a leading not-for-profit organisation providing emergency relief, housing support and welfare provision, will deliver this service for the City.  

In 2020, the Council resolved to support a three year assertive outreach fee-for-service contract to an amount of $150,000 per annum for three years, to be delivered by a suitably qualified and experienced not-for-profit agency.  

The priority of this service will be to assist people experiencing chronic homelessness, who are people experiencing homelessness for more than 12 continuous months.

City of Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels said homelessness was identified in the City’s Community Support Services Strategy as a key focus area, and the delivery of a new assertive outreach service would be crucial to assisting the most vulnerable members of the community.  

“Homelessness comes in many forms and a holistic, multifaceted approach, is required to provide assistance to people who need it most,” he said.

“As a local government, the City’s core role in responding to homelessness is to provide community sector coordination, training, advocacy, prevention programs and referrals for individuals requesting support and assistance. 

“Research previously conducted by the City has found that there was a significant need for wrap-around services that offer emergency/crisis assistance, transitional accommodation and mental health support. 

“St Patrick’s Community Support Centre is a leader in this space and the City looks forward to working closely with them in the coming years.” 

St Patrick’s Community Support Centre CEO Michael Piu congratulated the City of Rockingham for their commitment to support the most vulnerable in the community through evidence-based approaches that address and overcome disadvantage. 

“We look forward to working with the City of Rockingham and the local community to support people experiencing homelessness, bringing about positive change for those individuals and the community," he said. 

“St Patrick’s core mission is to work towards ending chronic homelessness in our community, and the City’s new Assertive Outreach service, along with the State Government’s landmark Housing First Homelessness Initiative, are important commitments to achieving this outcome.’’  

The City’s delivery of an assertive outreach service complements the State Government’s Housing First Homelessness Initiative, which provides accommodation and wrap around support to people sleeping rough across Western Australia.