The Department of Communities has announced that a new online platform is in development, aimed at improving responses for assisting people experiencing homelessness.
The Department has awarded a contract to Infoxchange to lead a consortium with Anglicare, the Innovation Unit and Anthologie to develop, design and deliver the new Homelessness Services Portal.
The Portal, due for completion next year, is expected to provide an online resource for people experiencing homelessness while also being accessible to community service organisations.
In a statement, the Department said the Portal would maintain real-time data on available beds and support across a wide range of service providers, making it quicker and easier to support people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
“The Portal was identified as a key concept during discussions with the community services sector and people with lived experience of homelessness to describe a functional No Wrong Door approach to service delivery,” the Department said.
It said the Portal would provide a “digital front door” to services and a database for people to manage and share confidential information, which would make appropriate referrals easier to navigate.
Minister for Homelessness, John Carey said reforming and improving the way it delivered services was a clear focus of the Department.
“This new online Portal will be a critical tool in supporting vulnerable Western Australians who are sleeping rough,” Mr Carey said.
“There are a lot of great service providers in the community, and ensuring everyone is in sync and knows where there is capacity within the system is essential,” he said.
