The Homelessness Networks across the state engage in a range of advocacy and systems development activities. This is done via ongoing consultation with consumers of services and via a range of Working Groups that are statewide and regional in focus.

The Northern LASN in partnership with the Western LASN surveys consumers of all member agencies annually. The survey usually focusses on consumers’ experiences of the coordinated homelessness service system.Results of past surveys can be found by visiting the Consumer Survey Results page of this website.

The Northern and Western LASN's also have a number of working groups that you are welcome to join. Please contact meredith.gorman@launchhousing.org.au  for more information about the Northern groups and sarah@wombat.org.au for more information about the Western groups.

SHIP Champions/Data Working Group

Homelessness workers from around the State who are interested in promoting improvements in SHIP use, learning about data interpretation and participating in Departmental and Infoxchange consultation about homelessness data.

NDIS Working Group

A working group, convened by the Council to Homeless Persons, bringing together homelessness service providers and representations of the NDIA and Local Area Coordination services to discuss improved access to the NDIS for people experiencing homelessness.

Contact Andrew@chp.org.au to join these two working groups.

Consumer Participation Working Group: Members of Northern and Western LASN agencies interested in progressing consumer participation in the homelessness sector. The Working Group prepares and reports on an annual consumer survey for the LASNs. The 2022 survey will continue to explore consumers' experiences of emergency accommodation.

The Crisis in Crisis Working Group has developed a workplan to implement the recommendations from the Crisis Accommodation Options Report. One of these actions is to re-visit the 2017 consumer survey on emergency accommodation and to run a similar survey in the first half of 2022. The Crisis in Crisis Working Group will have some recommendations to forward to the Consumer Participation Working Group by early February.

It would be wonderful to get some additional members for the Working Group. Please promote it amongst your colleagues. We also have funds to reimburse two more consumers for participating in the Working Group. Let Meredith or Sarah know if you know of any other consumers who would like to participate (email addresses above).

Advocacy Working group: Representatives of Northern and Western LASN services interesting in leading homelessness week and other advocacy activities. Meetings are held as needed. Its is expected that this working group will lead the state and federal election campaign by working with Everybody's Home to organise an “adopt” a State and Federal MP in the lead up to elections.

AP/THM Working Group: Representatives of access point and transitional housing management services meeting 6 weekly to share information and strategies.

Crisis in Crisis Working Group: Northern and Western LASN members interested in continuing the LASNs' work on the ‘crisis in crisis’ and monitoring/guiding the LASNs’ implementation of the Crisis Accommodation Options Project report recommendations.

Lodjbra: Representatives from Northern and Western ACCOs and mainstream SHS services interested in Indigenous specific homelessness issues and sharing of housing and homelessness information. Plan to meet at least twice in 2022.

Joint PL team – oversea allocation of vacancies across the NMR, progressing the rollout of VMS in the NMR.

Potential new groups:

HEF Guidelines: A group that may form to meet once or twice to make recommendations about areas of the HEF Guidelines that could be improved.

Local Government Working Group: Representatives from NMR LGAs and LASN members interested in leading working together to address homelessness responses at the LGA level.