Yarra Community Housing slide show - HomeGround Services

YARRA COMMUNITY
HOUSING
YARRA SUPPORTIVE
ACCOMMODATION CLUSTER
(YARRA SPACE)

Background
• Yarra Community Housing (YCH) have been
working with Yarra support agencies to develop a
Supportive Accommodation
• The area affords an opportunity to develop an
integrated model of supportive accommodation
which meets the complex needs of these tenants.
There are 3 categorises effectively integrated into
the Yarra Space Model.
• Emphasis on long term individualised/ tailored
solutions.
• Preventing homelessness (e.g. from prisons,
hospitals and also from rooming houses)
• Supporting rough sleepers into housing

The YCH Supportive
Accommodation Cluster
Model – Yarra Space
• The aim of the YCH Supportive Accommodation Cluster
Model is to create a safe, thriving, healthy living
environment that tenants can call home for the long term.
• Principles
• YCH Supportive Accommodation Cluster Model is not
contingent on acceptance of support, however support is
available when and if tenants require it;
• YCH Cluster Model caters for individuals with complex and
multiple needs who have been homeless for over 12
months as well as people with lower support needs;
• YCH Cluster Model provides long term safe secure
affordable accommodation;
• YCH Cluster Model provides support as needed and
includes on-site supports for tenants using an assertive
engagement model; and
• YCH Cluster Model provides a graded level of security
across the housing cluster, with greater security in
properties housing tenants with higher needs.

Key Elements
• The YCH Cluster Centre located at Osborne
House in Nicholson St and the Derby St
rooming house (women only) are the entry
points for tenants with higher support needs
and security requirements.
• The on-site Connection Team at the YCH
Cluster Centre provides regular outreach to
other properties in the Cluster
• Improves coordination of external support
services for tenants to ensure an integrated
multidisciplinary response. Protocols and
multi/interagency agreements will be
developed to support strong relationships
between the Connections Team and external
support services; and
• A flexible graded security model with higher
level security response at the Cluster Centre
and lower level security response at more
stable properties.

Outcomes
The critical outcomes for
YCH Supportive
Accommodation Cluster
Model include:
Client Outcomes:
• Long term sustainable housing with support
needs met
• Enhanced access to support services
• Smoother transition into appropriate housing
(avoid private boarding houses)
• Safer living environment across the YCH Cluster
• Increased stability
• Improved health and wellbeing
• Increased social inclusion for tenants
• Increased tenants’ skills and independence and
• Stronger sense of home and community within
the Cluster housing.

Service System Outcomes
• Early identification of needs;
• Speedier holistic coordinated responses to
individual needs;
• More effective management of crises with
reduced impact on other tenants;
• More effective support interventions;
• Improved service coordination and reduced
duplication;
• Improved knowledge and information
sharing;
• Improved management of long term high
needs;
• Increased stability;
• Community and individual capacity building; and
• More support for external services working with
YCH Cluster tenants.

Stakeholders/
partners
• North Yarra Community Health
• St Vincent’s Mental Health
• St V’s (alert team- ED)
• City of Yarra
• HomeGround Services
• RDNS HPP
• DHS (Central Office)
• ACSO
• Police
• Harm minimisation

HACC Pilot
Yarra Space
• HACC services are recognised as a core service of
the Council.
• The main purpose of the Yarra SPACE HACC
model is to increase the effectiveness and
responsiveness of HACC service provision to this
special needs client group.
• While HACC services are skilled in dealing with
multiple and complex needs in relation to health,
ageing and disability, the Yarra SPACE tenant
group present different needs for which most
mainstream HACC staff would be unlikely to be
skilled or experienced in dealing with.
• People experiencing homelessness and people at
risk of homelessness often have multiple and
complex needs which do not usually fit the
standard HACC service delivery model.
• Yarra Council has directly entered in an
agreement with YCH to directly employ 1.2 EFT
Personal Support Workers as part of the Yarra
SPACE Connections Team.

Aim -Yarra SPACE HACC Personal Support
Worker positions is:
To provide quality, accessible, flexible, appropriate,
person-centred Home and Community Care services to
eligible Yarra SPACE tenants, supporting their progress
towards independent living.
Objectives
• To provide flexible, responsive, on-site HACC
support (through the Personal Support
Workers) to Yarra SPACE tenants as part of
the multidisciplinary Yarra SPACE team
• To improve the physical, emotional and
mental health and wellbeing of Yarra SPACE
tenants;
• To support tenants to increase their skills to
enable them to be more independent and to
participate in the Yarra SPACE and local
communities; and
• To support Yarra SPACE tenants to transition
to mainstream Council HACC services and to
progress to independent living where
possible and appropriate.

Support Yarra SPACE tenants to
live independently -as per
their care plans.
• Cleaning and tidying individual tenant
rooms/units, where possible together with
the tenant.
• Support Yarra SPACE tenants to build their
skills and participate in the community.
Participating in-house community development activities
such as weekly lunch, cooking groups, shopping groups,
etc and eternal activities such as outings, festivals
• Personal care of individual tenants-
Assistance with bathing, showering, grooming toileting;
assistance with mobility such as getting in and out of bed,
chair, vehicle etc
• Support tenants to access health and support
services and community resources as part of a
coordinated client care plan