The Road Home project sees our unique integrated team embedded in crisis accommodation 1 day per week. Working with Launch Housing East St Kilda, a First Step Legal lawyer, GP and mental health nurse provide wrap around services to some of Melbourne’s most vulnerable women.
The project has been running for 6 months and in that time 28 individual residents have attended 113 appointments.
Brianna* is one of the clients who has seen practitioners across all three disciplines.
Brianna hasn't had somewhere safe to sleep for over a year. She started living in her car after her ex-partner assaulted her (again), but then the car got stolen.
Brianna comes to Launch Housing with a very long list of things that are stressing her out – she is in debt and her Centrelink payments are about to be suspended, she has outstanding legal matters and she hasn't been able to get advice about an intervention order against her ex, she hasn't been able to see a doctor in a while and she is running out of medication, and she is not sleeping and is noticing that she feels anxious all the time, has very little tolerance for others, and sometimes thinks about how much easier things would be if she just ended it all.
Through the Road Home project, Brianna is able to see a doctor for her medication and some overdue health checks, talk to a lawyer about her legal matters and see a mental health nurse who works with her on developing strategies to help her feel less anxious and manage her mental health better.
The Road Home collaboration meant Brianna’s Launch Housing case worker could refer her to receive brokerage funding which paid for new glasses. Brianna reports that these things have helped her gain confidence about what is next for her and is very appreciative of the support she has received.
* We have changed the clients name to protect her privacy
- Kym Coupe, Project Manager, Road Home
