The Interagency provides a forum for service providers to build relationships and work collaboratively to improve outcomes for the Shellharbour, Kiama, Wollongong and Shoalhaven communities.
Community Industry Group in partnership with Inside Out Recovery will be holding a 2-day training session in April focusing on the complexity of both hoarding and squalor. The aim is to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of these disorders and how to support or diagnose the presence of hoarding and squalor. The training provides front line workers, psychologists, GPs, housing providers, NDIS LACS and planners, real estate agents, and others with an in-depth understanding of these disorders and how to support or diagnose the presence of hoarding and squalor.
Learning outcomes:
Understand Hoarding Disorder (HD) and Severe Domestic Squalor (SDS) from a holistic framework.
Understand the behaviours, psychology, and emotional attachments that underpin these disorders.
Effectively identify the presence of Hoarding Disorder (HD) and Severe Domestic Squalor (SDS).
Identify appropriate intervention strategies – what works and what doesn’t?
Effectively use assessment tools to inform work practices.
To fully understand the significant challenges the Community Services sector (Illawarra/Shoalhaven/Southern NSW) is currently facing, Community Industry Groupis conducting a ‘Temperature Check’ (key issue survey) to find out what issues are most concerning to you/your organisation/community and what supports may be needed.
Wanting to learn some new cooking skills, learn how to plan meals, how to budget, eat seasonally, connect with others over a delicious meal?
Come along to Cook Chill Chat facilitated by Healthy Cities Illawarra, a weekly 3 hour cooking and social group that goes for 8 sessions beginning Thursday the 20th of October, from 10:30am-1:30pm.
But make sure you get in quick–this popular group books up fast!!!
Join us for an inspiring, encouraging and nourishing evening with Clarence Slockee, local speakers, expo stalls and a bustling crop swap!
In a world of growing complexity and uncertainty, we are gathering to explore how we can together build a food system that is more sustainable, stronger and resilient here in the Illawarra.
These complex and systemic challenges require proactive and intersectoral action, but where can we start as a community?
In a conversation guided by local goat herders / cheesemakers Fiona Weir Walmsley and Adam Walmsley from Buena Vista Farm, you will hear from those who are actively working within our food system and explore ideas around building food resilience in our community.
With key note speakerClarence Slockee
Clarence is a Cudgenburra/Bundjalung Aboriginal man with a long family history of bushmen, farmers and fishermen growing up in the lush Tweed Valley.
Clarence intertwines his love of plants, education, culture, design and the arts into his role as Director of Jiwah. He is a graduate from the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) Dance College and has gained experience across a broad range of performance mediums, but his passion remains with his farming roots and ensuring the biodiversity of native species.
Clarence has over 20 years of experience in environmental and cultural education, including roles with the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the Barangaroo Delivery Authority and more recently as Director and founder of Jiwah, a 100% Aboriginal owned company that delivers a range of collaborative projects including urban native species green space.
For the past 10 years Clarence has been a familiar face on television screens across the nation as a presenter on ABC’s Gardening Australia. With regular segments on the TV series, he continues to educate people about medicinal, cultural and edible native plant species unique to the Australian landscape.
A graduate of UTS Business School, Clarence is currently working with a broad range of collaborators to incorporate Indigenous cultural perspectives into green space urban design.
What is the End Street Sleeping in Illawarra Collaboration?
The End Street Sleeping in Illawarra Collaboration is a group of local community organisations and government organisations working with the End Street Sleeping Collaboration to ensure no one should have to sleep rough in Illawarra.
Over the past three years Illawarra has seen a steady increase in the number of people sleeping rough. These numbers have increased from 11 in 2020 to 57 in 2022.
We believe street sleeping is solvable and everyone has the right to access safe and sustainable housing. Finding the right information about who is sleeping rough and why is vital to developing effective strategies.
In Illawarra this information will be collected during Connections Week (5th September in Wollongong /12th September in Kiama/Shoalhaven).
Their stories will be entered into our By-Name-List database enabling local services to triage the most vulnerable and collaborate across organisations to providing housing solutions and continued support services to ensure ongoing tenancy.
The goal of the End Street Sleeping in Illawarra Collaboration is to halve street sleeping in Illawarra by 2025 and end it by 2030. Our work aligns with the Premier’s Priority commitment to halve rough sleeping by 2025*
Who is part of the End Street Sleeping in Illawarra Collaboration?
The following organisations are supporting the Collaboration:
DCJ
Wollongong Homeless Hub
Neami National
St Vincent de Paul
NSW Health
Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation (IAC)
Age Matters
What is Connections Week?
During Connections Week, trained volunteers and community sector workers connect with people sleeping rough to conduct an internationally recognised survey and understand their housing and health needs. It is a week to focus on the stories and needs of people sleeping rough in our community.
From the survey data and personal stories collected a database called the By-Name List (BNL) is created. This is a real-time database of all people experiencing homelessness in our community. The data collected helps to coordinate support services, inform policy innovation, and create systems change.
Understanding this information enables the community to respond in real time.
The BNL is based on the principle that every person sleeping rough has a story to tell and that we know them by name. A story that allows them to be assisted out of homelessness, a story that can help us understand what leads people into homelessness, a story that can help us identify strategies that can prevent homelessness.
What information is being gathered and how?
The information gathered from people sleeping rough uses a survey tool – the VI-SPDAT – which combines elements of the Vulnerability Index (VI) with the Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (SPDAT).
The VI-SPDAT examines factors of current vulnerability and future housing stability. It is considered by the Institute of Global Homelessness to be the world’s best practice collection tool.
All participants will be required to sign a consent form and their private information will be strictly protected. Participants will be able to decline participation altogether or may choose to decline responding to individual questions only.
In accordance with Privacy Principles an individual may request to have their information removed at any time.
How will the information be used?
The End Street Sleeping Collaboration is an independent, sectorled and run entity and will hold the BNL and its data on behalf of local services. The BNL will be used in two ways: to immediately help individuals and to help change systems.
Organisations can use the collective, de-identified data to advocate for the change and resources needed to end homelessness in our community.
The information collected will be used as evidence to support policy and systems changes to better help those who sleep rough, and to reduce the number of people sleeping rough in the future.
Further information:
End Street Sleeping Collaboration, Graham West – CEO
Illawarra Interagency 