Beyond Housing youth worker and team leader Shaanie Meyer contacted Victoria Police to discuss the programs Beyond Housing offers for people who are at risk or experiencing homelessness.
“We have quite a few clients that are interconnected,” Ms Meyer said.
“Perhaps the police are dealing with people who are exiting housing and then utilising Beyond Housing support in finding alternative housing. It was about educating police on the ground as to what supports can be delivered and the programs available beyond initial crisis accommodation that they can connect with.”
The Victoria Police pilot program “beyond the referral” is being driven by Acting Senior Sergent Emma Moloney of Seymour police.
Victoria Police currently operates an electronic system called ‘e-referrals’, where members select the referring issue and are linked in with a range of organisations. The program can be delayed due to the administrative process required or the office hours of the staff manning the system. The initiative is designed to streamline the referring process for a faster response.
The formal aspect of the e-referral process will remain; but the program encourages staff to pick up the phone and get in contact with each other, knowing that the referral is in the pipeline.
“We can get in there early and that means we are not leaving the client in the lurch for that night,” Ms Meyer said.
Sen Sgt Moloney said the system did work, but it took time.
She hopes the initiative will encourage members of both organisations to share the information that is being processed for a speedier response and “to help one another help the people that we want to help”.
“We have named the project “beyond the referral” because it is about what happens next, after we put the referral in the system, whilst we are still with the individual,“ she said.
“It’s about what’s happening in between. Whilst the e-referral is being submitted, approved, moved to the next area and then sent externally to Beyond Housing to be allocated to someone, the individual with us can walk (from the station) 200 metres down the street to Beyond Housing and get the help that they need.”
Proactive Unit’s Sergeant Heidi Twinning said early intervention always had a positive impact.
“It may be a little win to us, but (for) the person in question, it can be massive,” she said.
“It can save a lot of things for them, potentially even their life, especially when it comes to the mental health space.
Ms Meyer, Sen Sgt Moloney and Sgt Twinning all believe education is crucial, not just for police members but also for the community.
Beyond Housing offers a wide range of services beyond crisis accommodation, including end of tenancy and VCAT application assistance, brokerage for payment plans, assistance in incidents of family violence and programs for people in public housing who either need to set up their tenancy or have a tenancy that is at risk.
“I think that’s something that perhaps some people in the community don’t know about (Beyond Housing) — if they are struggling with family violence, they can come to us, we can direct them in the right avenues,” Ms Meyer said.
“There is a lot more support available than just being removed from the current situation into crisis accommodation. There are brokerage options, for example, for their children.
“There is a facet of things that we can do to support that person that make it so much easier to leave the volatile relationship.”
Family violence is a prominent problem In Seymour and throughout Mitchell Shire. Homelessness in people aged above 55 is rising significantly in the Seymour area, while youth homelessness is also a growing trend observed by Beyond Housing.
Sgt Twining said there was hope for expansion of the program down the track.
She would like to see the program with Beyond Housing established across Mitchell Shire before a wider scope of organisations, such as The Orange Door, can be considered.
Under Victoria Police’s neighbourhood policing framework, local solutions to local problems are encouraged, meaning it would be possible for local stations to dictate which organisations they engage with to address the specific needs of their community.
“This beyond the referral initiative may open up opportunities for organisations to approach us the way Beyond Housing has … we can support agencies that we may not be aware of yet,” Sen Sgt Moloney said.
If you or someone you know is in need of assistance you can phone Beyond Housing on 5735 2000, go to www.beyondhousing.org.au or visit the beyond housing office at 54 Tallarook St, Seymour.
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