Consumer feedback
Since 2011, the Consumer Participation Working Group of the Northern and Western Homelessness Networks has run an annual consumer system survey across the north and west region. Each year we have asked people who use our services what they think of our system and what needs to change. Since 2011 over 1300 people have taken the time to tell us something of their experience.
Some have been short and to the point, others long and detailed in their pain and anguish. Most have reflected on how much they value the help and the efforts of their workers and the community we represent on their behalf. But, not all of it was positive.
We have learnt a lot, some things we knew, others we suspected, many shocked us.
One thing we knew because our workers kept telling us.
Victoria has only 423 Government funded crisis beds – these are provided by specialist services, they are staffed 24 hours a day, with a range of other services such as nurses, lawyers, AOD and mental health specialists available.
They provide case management and the emotional support and hope needed for people to start the journey out of homelessness or to gain some respite when their experience has just been too overwhelming. However, with targeted stays of around 8 weeks each that works out to around 7 people per each bed per year.
And yet last year we needed to find 9,000 instances of accommodation in addition to those who were able to access these government funded beds.
In 2017 we asked consumers to tell us about their experience of staying in these government funded crisis accommodation services and of the many other forms of private accommodaiton that services have no option but to use when those 423 government funded beds are full.
The consumer feedback was devastated. Attached is a powerpoint highlighting some of the feedback.