Project 90/90 aims to end over 30 years of entrenched homelessness in Woolloomooloo, Sydney through a collaborative Housing First approach. Statistics show high numbers of rough sleepers in the area, with 25% of all primary/secondary homelessness located in Woolloomooloo. The project has housed 62 people through partnerships between government, community, corporate, and philanthropic groups. Key achievements include securing funding for housing 70 rough sleepers and analyzing costs that show it is more efficient to house the homeless than leave them on the streets. Ongoing work includes exploring private rental opportunities, new builds, and meetings with government to discuss solutions.

2. Contents
• What is 90/90
• How and why it started
• Partnerships outside the box
• What we have achieved so
far
• How we have done it
• Platform 70

3. WHAT IS PROJECT 90/90
A collaboration between government, community,
corporate and philanthropic stakeholders that is
committed to replacing reactive and stop gap
approaches to an entrenched problem with a long term,
strategic approach based on evidence, data, advocacy
and collaboration
Our Aim
To end over 30 years of entrenched homelessness in
Woolloomooloo

4. SCOPING THE ISSUE: creating a local profile
STATISTICS
2006 Census:
388 rough sleepers (10.4% of all NSW rough sleepers) in City LGA.
Feb 2010 Street Count:
418 rough sleepers, 91 (21% ) in W‟loo;
467 people in homelessness hostels, 93 (20%) in W‟loo;
Roughly 25% of all primary/secondary homelessness located in
W‟loo;
W‟loo highest density of homelessness in LGA for at least 25 years.

5. IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE.
RIGHT?
2006 rudimentary analysis = $34,000 to maintain a person in a state
of
Homelessness (not including the cost of police and council input)
Place that alongside:
 Over 40 years of homelessness in the area
 50+ services involved in servicing the issue
 91 people (most of them chronically homeless)
Makes you think ...

6. THE PROJECT PARTNERS
UBS: Chair person; funding; volunteers; economic advisor; business acumen;
contacts and influence; long term funding commitment to Woolloomooloo
City of Sydney: content knowledge; local connections; work on the ground;
community relations; funding
United Way: broker of partnerships; dedicated project officer; long term funding
commitment to Woolloomooloo
Freehills Foundation: legal advice; proposal writing; funding;
Way2Home: content knowledge; consumer support
Colliers International: property contacts and expertise
Bridge Housing: Platform 70 : housing for rough sleepers

7. WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED SO FAR
• Government commitment to funding for the housing of 70 rough sleepers in
the area (Platform 70)
• 62 people have been housed out of the area since the Project began in mid
2010 (W2H and AOS) – including many persons formally resistant to being
housed.
• A decrease in rough sleeper numbers across the entire LGA
• Development of a business model providing an economic and social
rationale for solving the „problem‟ of homelessness in Woolloomooloo
• Completion of a cost analysis of rough sleeping to support advocacy efforts
• Development of a cost model for ending rough sleeping across the City
• Greatly increased collaboration between services, Council, Police and
rough sleepers in the area and improvement of fractured relationships

8. HOW WE DID IT: RESEARCH AND DATA
Street Count and Outreach Data and the Vulnerability Index:
• 90 in W‟loo at time of conception (21% of all city‟s rough sleepers)
• VI data indicated high no.s of particularly vulnerable people
Investigated models with proven success that could be adapted to meet local challenges
• Pathways Housing First model: strong housing outcomes utilsing available private rental
resources
Cost Analysis of Rough Sleeping:
• $28.7k annually to service someone whilst they remain homeless
• = approximately $1.7million to continue servicing this population
Analysis of the cost of solving homelessness across the entire City
• An additional $900k a year for two years would provide street to home support for all
remaining rough sleepers in the City (246)
• Allow diversion of resources to prevention activities (to prevent flow into W‟loo) whilst
enacting a „rapid exit‟ approach for new arrivals.

9. HOW WE DID IT: ADVOCACY
• Developed a housing matrix or all potential housing opportunities
• Public Housing
• Community Housing
• Boarding houses
• New build
• Head leasing
• Decided to focus on head leasing opportunities
• Invited Sam Tsemberis to Australia to promote Housing First and
meet with Ministers and decision makers.
• Wrote a proposal for housing and supporting all rough sleepers
in Woolloomooloo utilising a cost efficiencies argument

10. HOW WE DID IT: COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
• Woolloomooloo Integrated Services Hub (WISH)
• Monthly one stop shop of 20 organisations focused on outcomes
• Monthly meetings of homelessness service providers in the area
• Ensuring collaboration not duplication
• Rapid responses to new comers in the area
• Gathering data on reasons why rough sleepers migrate to Woolloomooloo
• Fostering social inclusion
• „Show us your Woolloomooloo‟ project: involving homeless, public and private
housing tenants, local business – creating a dialogue across difference
• Working with the faith based mobile services and police
• Encouraging services to relocate; be more proactive in providing support &
referrals
• Working with police to address genuine issues in the area without unfairly
targeting rough sleepers

11. HOW WE DID IT: HOUSING & SUPPORT
• Housing:
• Platform 70: private rental leases for 70 rough sleepers in Woolloomooloo
• Common Ground
• Other public and community housing outside the inner-city – investigating
support relationships in those areas (e.g. North Shore)
• A professional pitch to private landlords
• A glossy brochure outlining a business case for working with the Platform 70
project
• Way2Home and Aboriginal assertive outreach:
• multi-disciplinary and culturally specific assertive outreach approach; street
to home support
• Housing Starter Kits
• Raised funds to ensure that people entering housing were able to do so with
amenities they selected and purchased themselves

12. WHAT NEXT?
Continue to explore:
• Future private rental opportunities beyond Platform 70 – meeting
with a range of organisations/individuals that own residential
property and talking with government (ongoing funding)
• New build opportunities – lobbying organisations/individuals with
land or property to develop; developing a feasibility study for new
build
• Potential for Social Impact Bond and other innovative financial
structures for financing new build
• Meetings with Federal and State Homelessness & Housing
Ministers, DPC and Treasury to discuss data and findings of
research and „next step‟ proposals.

14. PROJECT SUMMARY
• A Housing First approach: no requirement to be “housing ready”
• Funded under National Partnership Agreement
• Referrals through Neami Way2Home and Aboriginal Assertive Outreach
Service
• Utilises headleasing in the private rental market

15. WHY IT WORKS/LESSONS LEARNED
• Choice and flexibility- Client can decide, and it‟s ok to change mind.
• Learning and second chances- Recognise ability to learn.
• Partnership working- Working together with different priorities but the same
goal.
• Separate relationships- Support not tied to housing, support is always there.
• Intensive initial tenancy management- dealing with crisis periods, learning
to live inside.
• Successful private rental acquisition- accessing the private rental market
effectively.

16. ACCESSING THE PRIVATE RENTAL MARKET
• Suitability of properties
• What do real estate agents want?
• Understanding conflicting pressures/priorities
• Selling the project
• THEN let’s provide excellent service
• Proof?

17. CASE STUDY - JOHN
• Long history of rough sleeping
• Previously housed – unable to sustain tenancy
• Considerable effort to house and support but incarcerated
• Released from prison – return to rough sleeping
• Referred to Platform 70 by Way2Home
• Housed in December 2011
• 9 months on: stable in housing; excellent care of property; engaging with
supports

18. THANK YOU
Liz Giles
Manager Homelessness Unit
City of Sydney
02 9246 7676
egiles@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Christina Hough
Project Coordinator, Platform 70
Bridge Housing
02 8324-0826
C.Hough@bridgehousing.org.au