YWCA Australia has today launched the “Little things that are big”: An Evaluation of the YWCA’s Women’s Housing Support Program report, an external evaluation that was undertaken by RMIT University and funded by Homes Victoria and Lendlease FutureSteps.
The evaluation found that the Women’s Housing Support Program is successfully delivering an essential service that is achieving beneficial and effective outcomes, particularly in the areas of housing stabilisation, service systems navigation, and pathways into ongoing housing.
Helen Waters Silva, Director Service Delivery YWCA Australia is pleased that the evaluation demonstrated the great outcomes of the program that the YWCA team see firsthand.
“The evaluation showed remarkable success in sourcing housing for clients. This is significant in a severely under-resourced housing sector with limited social or affordable housing supply to meet the needs of people on low incomes”, says Ms Waters Silva.
The overall purpose of the Women’s Housing Support Program is to assist women to exit homelessness as soon as possible through stabilising their housing at the Lakehouse temporary accommodation and then moving to long-term housing.
“Our team have achieved great outcomes through its sustaining tenancies model, which offers flexible support and service delivery, and which is client-centred and trauma-informed.
“95% of our clients (21 women) who moved from the Lakehouse, moved to long-term housing compared to 69% of non-women’s housing support program residents.
“The evaluation also showed that evictions and abandonments have both decreased since the WHSP program began at the Lakeside. This is evidence of the real impact our team are having on women who are experiencing housing insecurity.”
The program includes client support co-located with tenancy management, to provide a seamless and integrated service to the Lakehouse clients. Since the WHSP commenced at the Lakehouse in June 2022 to November 2023, 31 out of a possible 40 clients were supported.
The external evaluation was undertaken by Associate Professor Juliet Watson, Professor Robyn Martin and Dr Freda Haylett from RMIT University. The evaluation adopted a mixed methods approach, including a review of existing data and documentation, literature review, secondary analysis of quantitative program and housing data, and interviews with program clients, team members, senior management and external service providers.
Associate Professor Juliet Watson quotes.
“Our evaluation revealed that the Women’s Housing Support Program is offering a critical intervention to women who would otherwise be homeless and without support.
“Older women are particularly vulnerable to homelessness due to relationship breakdown or the death of a partner, family violence, or having spent time away from the paid workforce due to parenting and caring duties.
“The Women’s Housing Support Program has a clear understanding of the unique challenges faced by older women experiencing homelessness and provides a targeted and compassionate response.”
The real impact of the program is best captured in the words of one of the clients of the program, Deborah:
“They’re just there and they understand your situation as well. They’re there to help, really, you know what I mean, even just little things like the Centrelink and the doctors, it does make that big difference.”
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