Nothing about us, without us: Lived experience participation in housing and homelessness

This project aims to investigate how lived experience participation can inform housing and homelessness policy and service design. The involvement of people with lived experience (PWLE) is gaining traction in areas like mental health, disability, alcohol and other drugs and healthcare. While there is interest in, and some exploration of, lived experience perspectives emerging in housing and homelessness, the field remains relatively unexplored and more importantly, policy and practice frameworks are yet to be developed and tested.

The project has two distinct phases involving a scoping review of relevant literature which will produce a brief and practical guide for policy and service actors, and co-designed investigations with PWLE, involving the following:

1. The appointment of six lived experience leaders (LELs) with 50% being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including an Indigenous Elder.
2. Co-design and data collection with the LELs.
3. Focus groups with PWLE, co-facilitated by LELs and academic researchers.
4. Co-analysis between the LELs and academic researchers, integrating focus group and literature review findings.
5. Roundtable discussions (one each in SA and Victoria) involving PWLE, policy and service design stakeholders. The discussions will expand the findings from the literature review and previous data collection stages.

This project will produce empirical evidence on lived experience participation in housing and homelessness policy and service design and delivery. Sources of evidence include a scoping review of existing literature; analysis of policies and models; and results from co-designed investigations with people with lived experience of housing precarity and homelessness.

Lead Researcher: Associate Professor Robyn Martin

Project Number: 53325