The NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) has contracted the Australian Housing and Urban Research  Institute (AHURI) in collaboration with the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales to undertake an independent evaluation of the Together Home Program (THP).

Since the inception of the THP in July 2020, the NSW Government has invested $177.5 million into the program to support people experiencing homelessness into stable accommodation and link them with wrap-around support. It aims to facilitate pathways into longer-term housing, and to provide access to culturally appropriate health, mental health and wellbeing services. It is a key initiative to support the Premier’s Priority to halve street homelessness by 2025.

The THP is being delivered across NSW by 18 community housing providers (CHPs). The CHPs are contracting support providers to provide the wrap-around support (‘standard’ and ‘High Needs’ packages). The THP is informed by Housing First principles. By January 2023, the THP had delivered 1,117 packages and housed 1,092 clients. The THP includes a capital component to increase the amount of housing available to clients – the Transition Program – which will deliver around 250 additional social housing dwellings.

Reports

Together Home Program Interim Implementation Report

The Implementation Evaluation report is based on data from stakeholder consultations, surveys of support providers and CHPs, analysis of administrative data and case studies up until January 2023. It is the third in a series of reports, which also include a Baseline Report and an Early Findings Report.1 The findings and recommendations provided by this report aim to assist DCJ in making decisions about the future of the THP and how and whether it can continue. A Final Evaluation Report, which will be completed in 2024, will add an analysis of linked administrative data, as well as an economic evaluation of the program.