Frankston Zero started in July 2021. The project takes a place-based collective impact approach to reduce the numbers of people experiencing rough sleeping by connecting with and getting to know each person, and adding them to the local ‘By Name List’ to enable a focused client-centred service response. Knowing everyone by name, understanding their needs and providing an integrated service response helps people find and sustain housing.  

The project is the initiative of the Frankston City Strategic Housing and Homelessness Alliance. It is led by Frankston City Council and Launch Housing, who have brought together local partners to collaborate, share data and provide a truly client-centred approach that helps build trust with clients who have often been moved from service to service over their many years of homelessness.

Project goal

To achieve Functional Zero homelessness for people sleeping rough in the City of Frankston by July 2025. This will be reached when the number of people entering and experiencing rough sleeping homelessness within a month is less than the average monthly placement rate into long-term housing, or three. Once achieved it must be sustained, with future experiences of rough sleeping homelessness in Frankston brief, rare and once-off. This will occur when the housing and support resources required to end homelessness are efficiently coordinated and sufficient to meet the needs of all people who sleep and live in the municipality.

Housing secured and homelessness ended

Homelessness is ended when people move into safe, sustainable, long-term housing of their choice. This includes public or community housing, private rental or private ownership that meets an acceptable minimum standard of a self-contained dwelling with its own kitchen and bathroom facilities. The person must have security of tenure evidenced by a signed tenancy agreement. Long-term housing includes aged care and may include long-term special residential services.

How are we going?

The latest data from the By Name List (BNL) illustrates the scale of rough sleeping homelessness in the City of Frankston. It also shows how people’s circumstances change over time as they become connected to the network of services in the project. The data shows clearly the change in living situations and movement into different living situations as people travel on a pathway out of homelessness.

Sleeping rough and actively homeless

People are added onto the BNL when we meet them and they are sleeping rough. This means that they are in an unsheltered living situation, a car or abandoned building or dwelling unfit for human habitation which some call a ‘squat’. When they are added they become ‘active’ on the BNL. The below chart shows the ‘active’ number since the project started.

Actively homeless and changes in living situations

Most people prefer not to sleep rough and move between different living situations as their circumstances change. The figure below shows this change as people become connected to the services that make up the project. The chart shows that some people move into safer forms of sheltered emergency accommodation such as hotels, motels, or specialist crisis accommodation, or other forms of temporary housing including Transitional housing (THM) or Head Lease housing. They also move into community rooming houses and other forms of living which may have greater security of tenure. These are not their final housing outcomes, so people remain ‘active’ even though their living situations may have improved. People could live in these for several years before an offer of social housing is finally made.

The most important reason people stay on the list and don't move into safe and secure homes is that there simply aren't enough homes in Victoria that people on low incomes can afford. If 10 homes are available and 50 people need homes, 40 people remain without a home, no matter how hard everyone tries to house them. Based on current estimates and in agreement with Council to Homeless Persons, we know that Victoria needs to build at least 6,000 homes every year for the next decade to meet current and expected future demand.

Partners

Frankston Zero is being delivered in partnership with:

• City of Frankston
• Launch Housing
• Vic Police
• Southern Homelessness Services Network
• South East Community Links
• Mentis Assist
• The Salvation Army
• Community Support Frankston
• Wintringham
• DFFH
• Neami National
• Bayside Health
• Peninsula Legal Centre
• Kids First
• Bolton Clarke
• Melbourne City Mission
• VincentCare