Media
Aged care home in Carlisle converted into 24-hour medi-hostel for homeless after $2 million retro-fitting
Jessica Page The West Australian
Fri, 18 October 2024 2:04PM
An aged care home in Carlisle has been converted into a medi-hostel for Perth’s homeless, after a successful trial in Northbridge.
Almost 400 homeless people used the pilot program over the last two years, but the State Government said a new location was needed.
More than $2 million has been spent retro-fitting the former aged care facility on Orrong Road, where medical and support services will be available 24 hours a day with a General Practitioner on site.
“These are people who would otherwise have ended up in hospital beds,” Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said.
“This is for people experiencing homelessness who have serious and chronic illness.”
There is room for 20 people.
“This is a transition arrangement for them,” Ms Sanderson said.
“It’s not permanent accommodation because this is a very resource intensive model of care.
“So it could be weeks, it could be months ... but we know when we put those wrap around services around vulnerable clients you get much better outcomes so they don’t bounce back into the system.”
Housing Minister John Carey suggested other locations were being considered to expand the service.
“We look at previous aged care accommodation, hotels and a range of other stock that currently is no longer being used that could be converted to supported accommodation,” he said.
-
Taking mental health care to the homeless
People experiencing homelessness in the Fremantle area will receive extra support with the creation of a mental health outreach officer role.
-
Medical respite – promise of a fresh start
When Dr Andrew Davies was fine-tuning the manual for WA’s first medical respite for rough sleepers, he faced early resistance from some GPs about how it should be run.
-
New program aims to help Perth's unwell homeless people
A new program is aiming to help Western Australia's homeless people leaving hospital, by providing them with a place to get well again.
-
10-month-old baby dies while homeless as WA's housing crisis worsens
Crystal is burying her 10-month-old son tomorrow.
The 32-year-old from Western Australia's Midwest found her baby Kenneth lifeless in bed in July.
-
Get homeless off the streets
There’s an urgent call to get homeless off the streets before COVID cases rise, as new data show one in five rough sleepers remain unvaccinated. Vaccination rates also remain lower for Aboriginal rough sleepers compared with non-Aboriginal rough sleepers.
-
WA's COVID-19 spread highlights need for supported accommodation for unwell homeless
Support workers say more needs to be done for sick homeless people after the spread of COVID-19 highlighted a shortage of suitable accommodation.
-
Medical Respite Centre for Homeless - a first for Western Australia
The McGowan Government has today announced the State's first Medical Respite Centre - setting a new benchmark for providing medical care and support services for the homeless.
-
Homeless Health First
Community services minister Simone McGurk and WA health minister Roger Cook launch the new medical respite centre. THE old Witch’s Hat hostel on Palmerston Street has been turned into the state’s first medical respite centre with 20 beds for homeless people recovering after being in hospital. The current system has been identified by UWA researchers..
-
Street Health Angel
With the temperature hovering about 5C and long before the sun comes up, Natalie is out in Perth’s alleyways and lanes looking for rough sleepers who need her help.
The approaching sound of the “street nurse’s” wheelie bag — stuffed with medical supplies — on the pavement offers some much-needed solace for many waking up with wounds.
-
Health care for the state’s homeless people has never been more critical.
Announcements of big government spending projects have become a regular occurrence in these COVID-19 times and as the state gears up for an election next month, the money is flying around from both ends of politics.
For all media enquiries.
