The Oppor­tu­ni­ty

Peo­ple expe­ri­enc­ing home­less­ness often strug­gle to access time­ly and appro­pri­ate health­care, lead­ing to fre­quent Emer­gency Depart­ment pre­sen­ta­tions and poor health out­comes. Exist­ing path­ways are dis­con­nect­ed, mak­ing it dif­fi­cult for clin­i­cians and ser­vices to coor­di­nate care effec­tive­ly. By strength­en­ing inte­gra­tion between health­care, hous­ing, and social ser­vices, we can improve patient out­comes, reduce sys­tem strain, and cre­ate a more coor­di­nat­ed, per­son-cen­tred approach.

Our Approach

We are work­ing to bridge the gap between health­care, hous­ing, and social sup­port to ensure peo­ple expe­ri­enc­ing home­less­ness receive the right care at the right time. This includes improv­ing ser­vice coor­di­na­tion, cre­at­ing clear­er path­ways to care and hous­ing, and sup­port­ing clin­i­cians with the tools and part­ner­ships need­ed to deliv­er effec­tive, per­son-cen­tred care. Through col­lab­o­ra­tion, pol­i­cy align­ment, and work­force devel­op­ment, we aim to dri­ve last­ing, sys­tem-wide improvements.

Our Part­ners

• Cen­tral Ade­laide Local Health Net­work (CAL­HN)
• Towards Home Alliance (THA)
• Aus­tralian Alliance to End Home­less­ness (AAEH)
• Aus­tralian Health, Hous­ing & Home­less­ness Net­work (A3HN)

Out­comes

We’re imag­in­ing a sys­tem where…

• Peo­ple expe­ri­enc­ing home­less­ness can access the care they need — whether health, hous­ing, or social sup­port — in a time­ly, equi­table, and coor­di­nat­ed way, reduc­ing avoid­able hos­pi­tal vis­its and improv­ing over­all wellbeing.
• Health­care ser­vices are acces­si­ble, respon­sive, and designed to meet peo­ple where they are, ensur­ing no one is left with­out appro­pri­ate support.
• Health, hous­ing, and social ser­vices are bet­ter inte­grat­ed, enabling a seam­less approach to care and pre­vent­ing peo­ple from falling through ser­vice gaps.

Doc­u­ments and resources

Dis­cov­ery Work­shop: Home­less­ness to Health Report 21 Feb 2025

Have a question?

Or want to learn more? Please email CEIH@​sa.​gov.​au.