The Queensland Government's Opening Doors Strategy for Reducing Homelessness 2011 - 2014 sets out how the community as a whole will work together to prevent and permanently end homelessness.
The priorities for the Opening Doors reforms are to prevent vulnerable people from becoming homeless; provide easier and quicker access to housing and support services; and increase opportunities for people who were previously homeless to participate in education, training and employment.
Adam Hughes, Acting Director of Homelessness Policy and Evaluation within the Department of Communities, said the success of the Opening Doors strategy reforms would be reliant on the Queensland Government’s plans to work more closely with specialist homelessness service providers, and on the support of the whole community to solve this problem and better meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness.
"Existing policies, procedures and service models will be improved and expanded to better support people to find stable accommodation after they leave health facilities, child safety arrangements, prisons or youth detention," Adam said.
"Improved case management practices will ensure that clients at risk of homelessness have individual plans in place to find housing and the support services they require to sustain it."
Over the next three years, it is envisaged these reforms will maximise the governments’ recent investments into homelessness recent investments into homelessness , including the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan – Social Housing Initiative, and the $85.2 million in 2011-12 for more than 210 specialist homelessness services in Queensland.
“The aim is for people to move quickly through the service system to get the support they need to permanently end their homelessness,” Adam said.
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