Brisbane NGO Wins National Homelessness Award
Micah Projects and Mater Health Services were today awarded a National Homelessness Services Achievement Award in recognition of their tireless work to prevent and tackle homelessness.
Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Mark Butler and Parliamentary Secretary for Homelessness and Social Housing, Melissa Parke today presented Micah Projects and Mater Health Services the Award for Excellence or innovation in partnerships in delivering services for their Homeless to Home Healthcare program.
“The Homeless to Home Healthcare program has stood out for its innovative partnerships focused on helping vulnerable people access health care,” Mr Butler said.
“This program has built partnerships with local organisations to break the cycle of homelessness by integrating health care and housing responses.
“St Vincent’s Health Care, Greater Metro South Brisbane Medicare Local and Metro North Medicare Local have all contributed to the program’s impressive outcomes.
Mr Butler said in the first five months of the program, they attended to more than 1600 people as young as 14 and as old as 86 years at all hours of the day and night.
“This program also reduces hospitals admissions by ensuring people get the support they need in the community,” Mr Butler said.
“It also addresses the complexity of need that individuals may have, and the complex systems they need to access, by taking health care directly to people who need it.
“Living with health issues, as well as being homeless, makes it enormously difficult to do any of the ordinary things in life like get health care, hold down a job, get an education or plan for the future.
Ms Parke said that while the last Census showed a 13 per cent drop in the rate of people sleeping rough dwellings, far too many Australians still do not have a place to call home every night.
“This Government has made tackling homelessness a national priority, and is committed to halving the overall rate of homelessness by 2020,” Ms Parke said.
“But we are not doing it alone-every day, thousands of services are on the ground helping people get back on their feet.
“This year’s Awards shine a light on the tremendous work these compassionate and dedicated service providers do for some of our community’s most vulnerable people.
“Thank you to everyone who nominated a service or organisation in the 2013 National Homelessness Services Achievement Awards.
“Congratulations to Micah Projects and Matter Health Services for receiving this well-deserved award for their Homeless to Home Healthcare Program.”
For more information go to www.fahcsia.gov.au/homelessnessawards.