Finding a home

City of Salisbury Housing Support Program supports older people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

As a care finder organisation we focus specifically on providing practical help and assistance for vulnerable older people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. We can help to find suitable housing. The people we help would not be able to arrange services without intensive support and do not have a family member or friends who can help.

The Housing Support Program is funded as a care finder and services are provided at no cost. They are fully funded through Primary Health Networks.

Who does the program assist?

Our service specifically helps vulnerable older Australians from the Salisbury and Playford areas who are homeless or at risk of being homeless and need intensive assistance. We can also help to access aged care and other supports.

To receive care finder support, a person must:

• have no carer or support person who can help them, or
• not have a carer or support person they feel comfortable or trust to support them, and
• be eligible for government-funded aged care.

In addition, they should have one or more of these reasons for needing intensive support:

• have difficulty communicating because of language or literacy problems
• find it difficult to understand information and make decisions
• be reluctant to engage with aged care or government
• be in an unsafe situation if they do not receive services.

How does the service work?

If someone requires this support, then a local organisation can connect them with a dedicated care finder. The care finder will meet with them, usually in person. This can be at their home or another place they choose. The care finder will ask questions to understand the person’s situation and support them to work through the steps to address their needs.

What services are available?

The City of Salisbury Housing Support Program focusses specifically on helping people find safe, suitable accommodation. As part of this process we can also help people understand what aged care services are available, set up an assessment and find and choose services. We can also help people with access to other supports in the community. We can help with both accessing services for the first time and changing or finding new services and supports.

We can help someone with:

• talking to My Aged Care on their behalf and arranging an assessment
• attending and providing support at the assessment
• finding and short-listing aged care providers in their area
• completing forms and understanding aged care service agreements
• checking-in once services are up and running to make sure everything is OK
• solving other challenges and connecting to supports in the community, such as health, mental health, housing and homelessness, drug and alcohol services and community groups.
• Connecting people who need help with other services to a general care finder

Watch Alfred’s amazing story below and see how the Assistance with Care and Housing Program has changed his life.

How do I connect someone to a care finder?

City of Salisbury Housing Support Program care finder contact information

What if a care finder isn’t right for someone?

Most people who need aged care should call My Aged Care on 1800 200 244 or visit www.myagedcare.gov.au to discuss their needs and arrange an assessment.

If someone would like help to talk to My Aged Care or to use the website they can go to any Services Australia centre. There are also Aged Care Specialist officers who give face-to-face help in 70 Services Australia service centres. Visit Services Australia website to see where these are located or call 1800 227 475.

Other supports and their contact details are;

• Advocacy support – call OPAN on 1800 700 600
• Carer support – call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737
• National Dementia Helpline 1800 100 500