City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder study project explores ways to address homelessness and antisocial behaviour

The introduction of a community paramedic, improving co-ordination among service providers and organising a national roundtable are some of the main recommendations of a local study project into antisocial behaviour and transitional homelessness. City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder chief executive Andrew Brien undertook a study project with the intent of gaining insight into the challenges and successes in addressing antisocial behaviours and transitional Aboriginal homelessness from a local government perspective. The study spanned multiple locations across Australia, including regional WA, South Australia and the Northern Territory, and culminated in a 225-page report with eight recommendations. Those recommendations focused on strengthening partnerships with Indigenous communities, establishing an integrated wrap-around services hub, prioritisation of stable and appropriate housing, and continuation and expansion of return-to-country models. It also recommended implementation of harm minimisation and community safety measures and advocating for an expansion of the $10 million Local Services Plan Community Support Fund in lieu of the cashless debit card. Standardisation of crime data being available across jurisdictions to enhance the quality of cross-jurisdictional research and strengthening alcohol management through the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Liquor Accord were the final recommendations. The wrap-around services hub would help provide co-ordinated support for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of antisocial behaviour by bringing together services in the health, housing, alcohol and drug sectors into one location. Implementation of a By Name List in Kalgoorlie-Boulder was also noted as a step to help provide a practical mechanism to identify and prioritise the needs of rough sleepers, and an expansion of bus services back to remote communities to help people return home was also flagged. The project came about when Mr Brien’s new key performance indicators were established last year, including one which council requested he undertake a strategy that was going to be “a bit more meaningful” in the community. With antisocial behaviour and community safety being the biggest issue in the community perception survey, Mr Brien said it was an easy decision to focus on this topic for the project. “The idea was to go and look at all the other communities and understand what they were doing, what works, what doesn’t, what are the underpinning issues, and what solutions might be out there that we could actually look at applying back in Kalgoorlie-Boulder,” he said. Mr Brien said the main takeaway from the study was that there could be no “one-size-fits-all” solution, and a multi-faceted approach was required. “There’s no quick solution in this and that’s part of the challenge with it,” he said. “But if you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve got. “So, this is about trying to bring it to the forefront and saying, ‘we know we’ve got a problem, everyone talks about it, but no one’s actually trying to find that solution’. “So, this is a good start for it. It’s a great piece of work and a lot of staff time went into getting it done, and now the hard work starts by actually implementing some of the recommendations and getting those discussions going.” While he noticed lots of similarities in challenges across the many towns he visited for the study, Mr Brien said Kalgoorlie-Boulder still had its own unique challenges such as having transient visitors from various communities, some of who did not like to share the same spaces. Not having native title determination in some areas also created some underlying issues, he said. “But it’s not an excuse to wait for it before we do anything, we’ve got to keep working towards a solution that’s going to work for our community,” he said. “It’s a challenge, because we’ve got some community spaces and the perception that people aren’t safe, which means they won’t use them. “It’s the antisocial behaviour, but also the perception that there might be antisocial behaviour, that makes people not feel safe. “We need to look at it from a broader perspective and say, ‘well, how can we ensure the people coming to town get here safely, ensure they have somewhere safe to stay, and also can get home safely’. “That’s a big part of what we are looking at here, what are the solutions we can put in to help address these issues and keep everyone safer.” Mr Brien said some of the Closing the Gap targets were “opening rather than closing” because a Federal approach did not always work, and he believed more funding was needed to be delivered locally to address each community’s struggles. “There’s lots of reasons why people come here and lots of reasons why they get stuck as well and quite often they want to go home, but they can’t get home that week and all of a sudden the alcohol becomes an issue,” he said. “Then the money they could have used to get home is gone and they are stuck again, and it becomes a cycle, and that’s what we need to try and help break. “There is no easy solution, but locally led solutions are definitely needed.” One new service to help address these issues that has come out of the study is the upcoming implementation of a community paramedic — something Mr Brien said he found out about “by chance” during his visit to South Australia. While he was not sure exactly when it would be up and running, Mr Brien said it would likely be supported by the Royal Flying Doctor Service and WA Country Health Service. “What that does is it gives us a fully trained paramedic who goes around, and they can do medicine distribution, so people who are coming into town who don’t have anywhere to store their stuff, the community paramedics have got it,” he said. “They can also do wound dressing and things like that. “That diverts those people away from the ED which frees up the hospital. “If you can divert it away from the hospitals and keep it addressed on the streets, that’s a much better solution, much more affordable for everyone.” Mr Brien said there had been “strong interest” in the national roundtable, but the date and location for it was yet to be determined. “One of the key things about this is getting the discussion going,” he said. “Everyone’s got problems, everyone’s trying to find solutions. “If we actually work together, the more minds that get around the table to come up with some workable solutions, the better it will be.” Before the study project started, the city was also working on relocating the Boulder short-stay camp, which was a State election commitment from 2021. “We’ve been engaging with the community on that for some time now . . . to come up with the design of the facility that’s going to meet their needs, rather than us telling them what they need,” he said. “We want it to be something they’re going to use and want to work with. “There’s a requirement to build a bit of trust with the community so that they actually understand that we’re working with them, not against them, or trying to tell them what they need.” He said the current camp’s proximity to the Super Pit and a highway as well as the distance from any of the central areas made it not the best location for people in need. With the study now complete and the recommendations put forward, Mr Brien said he was excited to see the work begin to implement some options and hopefully see an impact moving forward.