There is always something you can do.

During Homelessness Week 2018, Indigo Junction with support from the City of Swan held a Couch Conversation and breakfast at the Old Midland Courthouse to discuss the complex issues of homelessness in the local community.

The couch conversation provided a forum to engage with local businesses and community workers to build an understanding of their experience of homelessness in the area, lifting up the voices of people with lived experience, and discussing the 10-year strategy to end homelessness in WA.

Adele Stewart, CEO at Indigo Junction, discussed how services like its Karnany Resource Centre makes a vital difference to people in the community. Ms Stewart went on to discuss the importance of organisations working together to provide pathways out of homelessness and furthermore introduced the Midland and Surrounds Alliance to End Homelessness, an extension of the End Homelessness WA alliance which has launched a 10 Year Action Plan to end homelessness in WA.

The Midland and Surrounds Alliance to End Homelessness is made up of committed CEOs and executives from City of Swan, Indigo Junction, Midland Women’s Health Care Place, and Wungening Aboriginal Corporation.  Other organisations have also been invited to the table as the alliance looks forward to expanding.

Garry Fisher, Manager Lifespan Services from the City of Swan spoke about homelessness in the Swan catchment area and how the End Homelessness WA alliance is a positive step to address homelessness through a coordinated and collaborative approach.  Finally, guests heard a powerful testimony from a former Indigo Junction client with lived experience of homelessness. The single Aboriginal father of three discussed the challenges his young family faced and the turning point which found his family back on track. This strong and candid testimony provided a reminder that many people are just one step away from homelessness.