Finding Home is the vision of one person to solve the homelessness problem in Australia through innovative IT solutions and alternative sources of accommodation. The initial project has a few parts and aims:
- to provide a better means of coordination of resources between agencies and organisations who are in the homelessness service area so that resources aren't duplicated or wasted, and to ensur
e no homeless person slips through the cracks.
- to provide a better means of identifying homeless persons, locations, needs and priorities, where homeless details are entered, assessed for priority and a vulnerability assessment made to determine the highest need.
- homeless needs notified to service providers in the area. These will be achieved by an App/website and database and geo-referencing where a service operates and the persons location.
- to have organisations in Sydney using the App, database and website.
- to find temporary and permanent accommodation for people and families, and the services they need. The longer term aim is to roll the App, database and website out across Sydney then the rest of Australia. Details about homeless persons can be input by service providers, members of the public, a homeless person on themselves or others, police, hospitals, medical staff, council staff and rangers, ambulance. A full assessment can be made later if needed by service providers if full details aren't available. Other functions will be developed and included as well as details of services available to homeless through a dedicated App which is geo-referenced based on the person's location and the area covered or the nearest service provider. This may trigger a Uber type service where an organisation has a food van or street patrol nearby to provide immediate assistance based on the person's needs and location. A directory of available crisis or other temporary accommodation may also be available to homeless in the future through the App similar to AirBNB.
