The WA Labor Government has reaffirmed its commitment to provide more support for people experiencing homelessness to mark Homelessness Week 2025.
The week of significance is held from 4 – 10 August, this year focusing on the theme of ‘Homelessness Action Now’.
The Cook Government has restated its $5.8 billion in total funding to housing and homelessness reforms, working across all levels of government.
Homelessness Minister Matthew Swinbourn says this week is a time to centre the voices and experiences of people without a safe place to call home.
“Everyone deserves a safe, stable place to live. That’s why we’re continuing to invest in homes, services, and support that help people find their feet and stay housed.
“Since 2024, we have delivered significant investment in housing and support services, including new homes, expanded outreach, case management, and accommodation services across the state.
“We continue to embed our Housing First Approach – getting more people into homes then wrapping support around them through programs like the Supportive Landlord model.
“Later this year, that approach will be strengthened with the completion of the $70 million East Perth Common Ground Project.
“All of this is part of our $5.8 billion commitment to delivering real change in homelessness and housing outcomes across WA.”
Earlier this year, the State Government announced the launch of FindMyWay, better connecting people across the state directly with support services.
Ari had to leave his family home when he came out as transgender
Earlier this year, community member Ari shared his personal experience navigating support systems as a queer person.
Speaking to OUTinPerth, Ari said navigating the support systems that aim to help people experiencing homelessness was a unique challenge.
The first hurdle in the process is reaching out and asking for help, but even after you do that, there’s still many challenges ahead.
“It’s trying to find somewhere that actually has availability to take you.” Ari said. “I was lucky to have the foresight to be able to sort of plan my exit. I knew what services were available when I was having to call and go into temporary accommodation.
For Ari, his challenges began when he shared with his family that he was transgender.
“The home environment pretty much immediately became not a safe one, and of course that took a toll on my mental health.”
Asked what most people don’t understand about the challenge of homelessness, Ari shares that people are often thrust into an unfamiliar world where they have to navigate many different services.
“You really have to become your own best advocate. You really have to keep calling places and making sure you don’t go unheard, because otherwise it’s so easy to fall through the cracks. Especially as a young person, it’s really, really difficult.”
Ari says while he faced many challenges, he recognises that his situation was not as complex as many other people’s.
“I’m a caseworker dream in that I don’t have kids, I don’t have pets, I don’t have any legal issues, I don’t have any substance issues, but it’s still an incredible challenge to get through the system.
By sharing his story Ari recognises he’s helping break down barriers and remove stigma surrounding homelessness, and he really wants to challenge people’s perceptions of what housing challenges look like, and realise that couch surfing and people not have long term secure accommodation is all part of the realm of accommodation challenges.
“One in two young people that are trying to go to services are turned away because of that availability. We need help. We need advocacy, we need funding.”
Ari says when he got a really great case worker it made a huge difference to his life.
“Someone on your side, who’s advocating for you, and taking some of that burden off you is like so important. Especially as a young person, where you just don’t know what connections are out there, and what services are out there. Having someone in your corner is so crucial to actually getting any sort of good outcome in the process.”
