❓ Opposition asks about the justification for spending $2.3 million on an online homelessness services portal, questioning its accessibility for rough sleepers. Government defends the portal as crucial infrastructure for service coordination and data sharing, benefiting all people experiencing homelessness.
AnsweredQoN 1208Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
HOMELESSNESS
— ONLINE SERVICES PORTAL
1208. Hon COLIN TINCKNELL to the Leader of the House representing
the Minister for Community Services:
I refer to the government's
new online homelessness services portal, which the government says will make it
easier for people experiencing homelessness to access accommodation and
support.
How does the government justify
spending $2.3 million on an online service to help homeless people, when most
people sleeping rough would not have ready access to the internet?
— ONLINE SERVICES PORTAL
1208. Hon COLIN TINCKNELL to the Leader of the House representing
the Minister for Community Services:
I refer to the government's
new online homelessness services portal, which the government says will make it
easier for people experiencing homelessness to access accommodation and
support.
How does the government justify
spending $2.3 million on an online service to help homeless people, when most
people sleeping rough would not have ready access to the internet?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
The
online homelessness services portal is not just a directory of services for
people who are experiencing homelessness ; it is a crucial piece of
enabling infrastructure that will improve the coordination of homelessness
services. The portal has the dual function of holding accommodation and support
service information and availability, as well as
being a central platform to hold information and data of people who are at risk
of or are experiencing homelessness . The OneStory database enables
service providers to manage important information and data provided by clients
and share with trusted services providers. This allows rough sleepers and other
vulnerable people who may have experienced trauma in their lives to avoid
having to retell their story multiple times with different service providers. The portal will also provide service providers
with live system-wide visibility of accommodation and service capacity, enabling fast connection to services for people seeking accommodation and
support. The portal is being developed to benefit all people experiencing
homelessness, including rough sleepers. In addition, many rough sleepers have
access to the internet through public libraries and will be able to use the public-facing
features of the portal.
some notice of the question.
The
online homelessness services portal is not just a directory of services for
people who are experiencing homelessness ; it is a crucial piece of
enabling infrastructure that will improve the coordination of homelessness
services. The portal has the dual function of holding accommodation and support
service information and availability, as well as
being a central platform to hold information and data of people who are at risk
of or are experiencing homelessness . The OneStory database enables
service providers to manage important information and data provided by clients
and share with trusted services providers. This allows rough sleepers and other
vulnerable people who may have experienced trauma in their lives to avoid
having to retell their story multiple times with different service providers. The portal will also provide service providers
with live system-wide visibility of accommodation and service capacity, enabling fast connection to services for people seeking accommodation and
support. The portal is being developed to benefit all people experiencing
homelessness, including rough sleepers. In addition, many rough sleepers have
access to the internet through public libraries and will be able to use the public-facing
features of the portal.
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