This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE Western Australian Cook government is launching a pilot program that will see it partner with local organisations and turn disused Albany holiday homes into accommodation for people experiences homelessness.
The Cook government is investing $700,000 to support the Albany In-Reach Supported Accommodation Service, with the money to support Anglicare WA in providing intensive wraparound support services for people accommodated at the service, in preparation for seeking longer term tenancies either in community housing, public housing, or the private rental market.
The program will see government partner with Anglicare, Advance Housing, The Country Women’s Association of WA, and the Albany Community Foundation.
The investment is part of the broader $15.7 million to expand Housing First Support Services across Western Australia announced earlier this year as part of the 2024-25 state budget.
The new accommodation service will operate out of old holiday homes that were built in the 1930s, the result of Lands, Housing and Homelessness Minister John Carey approving the change of use for the properties under the Land Administration Act 1997.
Minister Carey said the Albany In-Reach Supported Accommodation Service aligns with the housing first approach, which prioritises getting vulnerable people housed and then focusing on the necessary support services.
Anglicare WA chief executive officer Mark Glasson, said, “Anglicare WA is very pleased to have the opportunity to deliver this new, innovative accommodation solution for Albany in collaboration with our valued partners.”
The Cook government is investing $3.2 billion in housing and homelessness. This week, it released 600 hectares of residential land both to the north and south of Perth that will become home to 16,000 residents, and separately lodged plans to build new apartments and townhouses on a key state-owned site within a new Metronet precinct in southern Perth.
