Beyond Shelter: Mental Health Accommodation & Care Forum
This Forum brings together experts, service providers, housing organisations, and advocates to explore practical, trauma-informed approaches to addressing homelessness, mental health housing, and domestic and family violence in Victoria.
Sessions will cover the implementation of Recommendation 25 from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, youth homelessness, short-term and crisis accommodation, the use of empty SDA homes, and trauma-informed housing design.
Attendees will gain insights into innovative housing models, integrated support services, and strategies to create safe, recovery-focused environments. The event will also explore collaboration across sectors to improve outcomes for adults, young people, and families experiencing mental health challenges, homelessness, or domestic and family violence.
Who should attend?
This forum is designed for mental health service providers, SDA and housing providers, homelessness and community services, youth services, policymakers, researchers, and lived-experience advocates interested in advancing housing, wellbeing, and recovery-focused solutions in Victoria.
TOPICS
Supported Housing for Mental Health: Implementing Recommendation 25 in Victoria
This session will explore Recommendation 25 from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, which prioritises supported housing for adults and young people living with mental illness.
It will provide an overview of the Victorian Government’s 10-year social and affordable housing strategy, highlighting how mental health is being integrated to ensure those requiring ongoing intensive treatment, care, and support have access to safe, recovery-focused homes.
The session will cover the delivery of 2,000 supported dwellings under the Big Housing Build and 500 medium-term supported housing places for young people aged 18–25 experiencing unstable housing or homelessness. It will explain the range of housing configurations—from stand-alone units to clustered independent units—and the importance of co-design with people with lived experience of mental illness.
Attendees will gain insight into how supported housing is being paired with integrated, multidisciplinary mental health and wellbeing services, the role of Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services in selection and support, and how these approaches align with broader system reform.
The session will conclude with a Q&A, giving attendees the opportunity to discuss practical challenges, share ideas, and explore strategies for implementing trauma-informed, recovery-focused supported housing that promotes stability, dignity, and well-being for adults and young people living with mental illness.
Beyond the Snapshot: Practical Responses to Victoria’s Youth Homelessness Crisis
The 2025 Victorian Youth Homelessness Snapshot has revealed alarming and persistent challenges for young people in Victoria — with high rates of family violence, long-term homelessness, and mental health distress continuing to define their experiences.
For practitioners, the findings highlight the urgent need for coordinated, trauma-informed, and practical approaches that move beyond crisis response to long-term solutions.
This session translates the Snapshot’s data into practice-focused insights for service providers, support workers, and housing organisations. Participants will explore the intersecting issues of homelessness, family violence, and mental health; strategies for building safe and recovery-oriented accommodation; and the importance of embedding youth voice and lived experience into service design.
Through real-world examples, discussion, and shared reflection, this session will equip practitioners with practical tools, collaboration strategies, and trauma-informed approaches they can apply directly in their work. The presentation will conclude with a Q&A, encouraging participants to share challenges, insights, and solutions.
Expanding Safe Places: Transforming Crisis Accommodation for women and children escaping family violence in Victoria
Victoria’s crisis accommodation system supports tens of thousands of women and children fleeing family and domestic violence each year. Despite this, many victim-survivors are still placed in motels due to a lack of appropriate supported housing, highlighting the ongoing demand for safe, therapeutic, and culturally responsive spaces.
Key discussion points will include:
• The current challenges and demand within Victoria’s crisis accommodation system.
• The development and impact of alternative models to motels, and why they improve outcomes for victim-survivors.
• How expanded safe places align with the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022–2032.
• Practical strategies for integrating wraparound services—from healthcare to legal and social support—to help families transition safely and sustainably.
Attendees will gain insights into the urgent need for expanded safe accommodation, the benefits of trauma-informed and collaborative practice, and how innovative housing models can provide lasting pathways to safety, recovery, and stability for women and children escaping violence.
Short-Term Accommodation as a Bridge: Supporting Mental Health Recovery and Housing Stability
Short-term accommodation plays a critical role in the housing pathway for people experiencing mental health challenges. It can provide immediate safety, relief from crisis, and a stabilising environment while long-term housing options are secured. This session will explore how short-term accommodation can be designed and delivered to meet both clinical and psychosocial needs, prevent re-entry into crisis, and strengthen community connections.
Attendees will gain insight into:
• Best-practice models of short-term housing for people with mental health needs.
• Trauma-informed approaches that balance safety with independence.
• Practical strategies to integrate case management, peer support, and wraparound services.
• How short-term housing can prevent long-term homelessness and hospital readmissions.
Unlocking Potential: Using Empty SDA Homes to Address Mental Health and Housing needs
Across Victoria, many Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) properties remain unoccupied, even as demand for safe and suitable housing continues to grow — particularly for people living with psychosocial disabilities and mental health challenges. This presentation examines how these empty SDA homes could become part of the solution.
Key focus areas include:
• Understanding the barriers behind vacant SDA properties.
• How SDA homes can be repurposed or better matched for people with mental health needs.
• Opportunities for partnerships between SDA providers, mental health services, and housing organisations.
• Policy and practice innovations to reduce vacancies and ensure housing stock is effectively used.
By addressing system gaps and fostering collaboration, empty SDA homes could provide pathways out of homelessness, reduce reliance on crisis accommodation, and create long-term stability for people with complex needs.
Design Matters: Trauma-Informed Approaches to SDA and Mental Health Housing – Creating Safe, Robust, and Recovery-Focused Environments
The design of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) and mental health housing plays a critical role in supporting recovery, safety, and wellbeing.
This presentation explores how trauma-informed design principles can be integrated into housing environments to create spaces that promote dignity, autonomy, and resilience for residents.
Attendees will learn how thoughtful design—ranging from layout, accessibility, and privacy, to communal spaces and sensory considerations—can reduce stress, enhance safety, and support mental health outcomes. The session will also highlight practical strategies for collaborating with participants, support providers, and architects to ensure housing not only meets regulatory standards but genuinely fosters recovery and wellbeing.
Attendees will gain actionable insights into creating safe, robust, and recovery-focused environments that address both functional needs and emotional safety, bridging the gap between housing provision and holistic care.
Speaker details are currently being updated