The Fleurieu and KI will come under the umbrella of Country South following state government changes to homeless services.

The changes will see funding to five new alliances of service providers made up of  Adelaide South, Adelaide North, Country South, Country North and Domestic and Family Violence.

None of the new alliances includes Catherine House, the only specialist service provider for women, or the Hutt Street Centre, which has provided services for almost 70 years, with each losing more than $1 million in funding and prepraring for large cutbacks.

Other smaller organisations may have to close entirely, including specialist mental health and Indigenous service providers.

The state government claims the change provides the biggest shake-up of homelessness services in more than a decade, following extensive consultation and a competitive tender process.

The new alliances will be required to intervene early to prevent people falling into homelessness and support people into safe, stable and long-term housing so they don’t cycle in-and-out of homelessness.

It says South Australia spends more than $70 million annually on homelessness and the reforms will maintain homelessness funding and ensure we’re getting the most out of taxpayer dollars.

Minister for Human Services Michelle Lensink says the reforms were a long-time coming.

“We’re really excited to be spearheading an Australian-first Alliance approach that places a strong focus on early intervention to prevent South Australians from becoming homeless in the first place.

“South Australians experiencing homelessness told us that that system was hard to navigate and wasn’t working for them and that’s why we pushed ahead with this long overdue and much-needed reform.

“More than ever before, it’s critical our domestic violence services are working together to support at-risk women and children into safe accommodation.

“We know that mental health issues and homelessness often go hand in hand and tackling this issue through targeted support is key to helping reduce homelessness in South Australia,” Minister Lensink says.

The new alliances will begin delivering services from 1 July.

Both Catherine House and the Hutt Street Centre will continue to operate, but are likely to greatly reduce their services because of the funding cut.

Deirdre Flynn, Catherine House Manager of Client Services, says the decision effectively erases a third ($1.2m) of its current operating budget. 

Women now represent 44 per cent of all people experiencing homelessness and women over the over the age of 55 are the fastest growing homelessness cohort.

“Our clients have already suffered significantly in their lives and we exist to support them. Their best interests are and will remain at the heart of everything we do.”

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay