Community housing organisations will have access to a veteran homelessness toolkit under a partnership between the Community Housing Industry Association and the Australian Government.

The toolkit will help organisations offer tailored support to veterans and their families and set an industry standard for providing housing services to veterans. It will also outline risk factors to veteran homelessness and referral pathways. Recent research found 5.3 per cent of veterans experience homelessness each year, compared to 1.9 per cent of the general population, with half homeless for more than four weeks and a quarter described as chronically homeless.

CHIA CEO Wendy Hayhurst said this initiative is a positive first step to tackling veteran homelessness.
“Improving housing access for veterans is essential because we know from research that more than a third of veterans who experienced homelessness did not know where to go for help,” she said.
“This great initiative will help providers develop a deep understanding of veteran homelessness so they can provide top-rate support to their residents.” Ms Hayhurst said the toolkit is the latest example of how CHOs and government departments are working together to improve outcomes for veterans.

Full media release here

Access the resources for veterans here