Workshop - SOLD OUT
Person-Centred Practice for Service Delivery
Thursday, 19 June 2025
Join us for a day of training workshops for front-line practice. You will consolidate your learnings from the two-day conference and connect with peers in a more intimate setting whilst gaining skills and knowledge to take back to your organisations and clients.
Agenda
Day Three | Thursday, 19 June 2025
8:00
Coffee and Networking
Skills to Change Lives
Choose to attend Session A or B on the day of the workshop
Session A
8:30
Workshop: Strengthening the Homelessness Workforce to End Homelessness: Building Skills, Retention, and Resilience
This interactive, solutions-focused workshop will explore workforce development as a key strategy in ending homelessness. Participants will engage in practical discussions and hands-on activities addressing workforce shortages, retention challenges, and skills development needs across Queensland's Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) sector.
Drawing on learnings from the development of the Specialist Homelessness Services Professional Practice Framework (SHSPPF) and extensive sector consultation, the workshop will highlight actionable strategies and shared sector insights. It will also showcase the Academy 4 Learning — a sector-wide initiative aimed at strengthening training, leadership, and workforce capability.
Participants will leave with practical tools, insights into cross-sector collaboration, and strategies to support service delivery and workforce sustainability.
By the end of this workshop, participants will:
Reflect on workforce challenges and opportunities emerging from sector-led consultation processes.
Explore workforce development strategies, including mentorship programs, leadership initiatives, and regional and remote recruitment incentives.
Gain insights into the Academy 4 Learning, a professional development platform designed for the SHS workforce.
Discuss the role of multi-disciplinary case management in improving client outcomes.
Identify practical workforce retention strategies to reduce burnout and increase stability.
Participate in cross-sector collaboration exercises that strengthen local and regional partnerships.
Facilitators:
Stephen Hawkins, Project Lead, Homelessness QLD
Alicia Pont, Practice Specialist, Homelessness QLD
Session B
8:30
Workshop – Part 1: Exploring Housing First and how we can use the principles without coercion to rework our practice, service models and system to end homelessness
This session is split into two parts, with the first part before the break exploring the Housing First principles by placing the lens of “without coercion” over them.
This interactive workshop will delve into the Housing First model as a proven approach to ending homelessness. The first part will explore how coercion impacts our day-to-day practice, the design of our service models and our wider service system and how applying the Housing First principles can find ways to reduce and eliminate coercion from our work. The session will include group discussions, problem-solving exercises, and scenario-based learning to help attendees translate theory into action.
By the end of part 1 of this workshop, participants will:
Understand the Housing First model – its principles, benefits, and how it actively challenges the use of coercion.
Explore explicit and unintended use of coercion – unpack examples of how coercion seeps into practice, service models and the wider system and the impact this has on both the people we are aiming to help and the staff in our services.
Identify opportunities for change – within our current work environments, service models and system that could be used as leverage points to create change, that will be workshopped in part 2 of this session.
Facilitators:
Leah Watkins, Senior Advisory Supportive Housing, Housing Choices
Ewan Higgs, Housing Services Program Manager, Hobart City Mission
Charlotte Georgiou, Housing First Practice Lead, Unison
10:15
Morning Tea
Innovation and Practice
Choose to attend Session A or B on the day of the workshop
Session A
10:45
Workshop: Gender Informed Practice in Homelessness Services.
Beyond the Binary: Gender-Informed Practice for Frontline Homelessness Services
This workshop is for frontline practitioners, both new to the field, or experienced, who want to transform their practice and make their service more accessible, safe, inclusive and effective for everyone. This dynamic, interactive workshop is designed specifically for frontline homelessness practitioners working in mainstream settings.
Despite women and gender-diverse people experiencing homelessness in unique and often invisible ways, most mainstream services still operate with a standardised approach. This session will unpack why gender matters in homelessness, explore the hidden barriers faced by women and gender-diverse clients, and equip practitioners with practical, evidence-based strategies to make their service genuinely gender-informed.
Drawing from case studies, collaborative activities, and contemporary research, including insights from specialist women’s services, practitioners will learn how to recognise and respond to gendered needs, create safer environments, and implement changes that benefit all clients.
By the end of the workshop participants will:
Understand how gender shapes homelessness experiences
Identify and address hidden barriers in mainstream services
Gain practical tools for implementing gender-informed practice
Develop an action plan to drive positive change in their own organisation
Facilitator: Cara Jacobs, Chief Operating Officer, YWCA Canberra
Session B
10:45
Workshop – Part 2: Exploring Housing First and how we can use the principles without coercion to rework our practice, service models and system to end homelessness.
This session is split into two parts, with the second part after the break exploring opportunities to leverage change in our practice, service models and the wider system to implement Housing First without coercion.
This interactive workshop will delve into the Housing First model as a proven approach to ending homelessness through systems change. The second part focuses on what can be done to drive meaningful change. The session will include group discussions, problem-solving exercises, and scenario-based learning to help attendees translate theory into action.
By the end of this workshop, participants will:
Identify their capacity to influence – at a practice, service or system level and understand the importance of each of these.
Engage in practical problem-solving by working through common challenges in Housing First implementation faced both in their own work or imposed on them by the service model and system we work in.
Develop an action plan for applying Housing First strategies within their own work, organisations or communities.
Facilitators:
Leah Watkins, Senior Advisory Supportive Housing, Housing Choices
Ewan Higgs, Housing Services Program Manager, Hobart City Mission
Charlotte Georgiou, Housing First Practice Lead, Unison
12:00
Lunch and Networking
Experiencing Homelessness Services: Reflecting on Practice From Lived Experience
Choose to attend Session A or B on the day of the workshop
Session A
1:00
Unpacking Advantaged Thinking in Youth Foyers
Learn from young people who have experienced homelessness and the Gold Coast Youth Service about how to supercharge your practice through Advantage Thinking
Matt Slavin, Team Leader, Gold Coast Youth Service
Session B
1:00
Embedding the Role of Lived Expertise in Practice: A Paradigm Shift in Contemporary Practice
This powerful and honest panel explores how lived expertise is transforming the homelessness and housing sector—from service delivery to systems change.
Bringing together people with lived experience of housing distress and those who support and elevate LE voices within organisations and government, this session goes beyond theory to reflect on real-world practice, emotional labour, and leadership.
Panellists will share their personal and professional journeys, explore the strengths and challenges of embedding lived expertise, and highlight the role of allies in creating inclusive and supportive workplaces.
Participants will be invited to contribute their insights, ask questions, and explore how we can all build a sector where lived experience is seen, respected, and empowered.
Key Themes:
Embedding lived expertise in practice, leadership, and advocacy
The role of allies in supporting LE voices and pathways
Navigating stigma, burnout, and tokenism
Building sustainable, inclusive careers for people with LE
Collective hopes for a sector led by and alongside lived experience
Facilitator: Cameron Thayer, Chief Executive Officer, Karakan
Michelle Debert, Acting Sector Capacity Lead, Q Shelter
Ollie Ryan, Youth Family Violence Peer Worker, Amplify
Shai Mikus, Senior Policy and Communications Officer, YFoundations
2:00
Afternoon Tea
Workforce
Session A
2:20
Enhancing Practice: Supporting Older People Experiencing Homelessness
This interactive workshop is designed to build the knowledge and skills of practitioners working with older people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness—one of the fastest growing and most vulnerable cohorts in the homelessness sector. Participants will explore the unique needs of this group, including the impact of premature ageing, limited housing options, and underutilisation of homelessness services.
The session will highlight effective, person-centred approaches to support, including how Wintringham has successfully implemented congregate, independent living models that promote safety, dignity, and community connection for older people. Practitioners will strengthen their capacity to deliver flexible support, advocate for client needs, and navigate aged care, health, and disability systems—particularly considering upcoming aged care reforms. Through real-world examples and discussion, this workshop empowers attendees to deliver respectful, inclusive, and sustainable support to a group that can easily fall through the cracks.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Understand how age can shape a person’s homelessness experience.
Identify the unique characteristics and needs of older people experiencing homelessness, including the effects of premature ageing and limited housing options.
Recognise the barriers this cohort faces in accessing traditional homelessness services and understand additional supports specific to older people that fall outside of this system.
Receive information on relevant aged care and disability resources (e.g., CHSP, Home Care Packages, NDIS, and Care Finder services) to connect clients with appropriate mainstream supports.
Advocate effectively for clients within and beyond the homelessness system, including in the context of upcoming aged care reforms (effective November 2025).
Facilitators:
Karen Lococo, Senior Manager Housing and Homelessness Support, Wintringham
Cassandra Politanski, Manager, Housing and Homelessness Support (Metro), Wintringham
Session B
2:20
Building and Thriving Together: Strengthening Workforce Wellbeing in the Homelessness Sector
This real world and interactive workshop will explore the unique demands placed on practitioners working across the homelessness spectrum and hear about the learnings across Qld regarding the wellbeing needs of our workforce. What we have heard and continue to hear is that whether supporting crisis responses, housing transitions, or wraparound services, this work is fast-paced, emotionally intense, and purpose-driven—conditions that can elevate stress and increase the risk of burnout and compassion fatigue. Together, we’ll unpack how the very passion that fuels our workforce can sometimes come at a cost to our wellbeing and what we can do reduce the impact and keep us thriving.
Drawing on real-world examples and co-designed tools developed by QShelter and Homelessness Qld, this session will offer evidence-informed strategies to embed a culture of wellbeing across individual, team, and organisational levels. We will take you on a journey of self discovery, will learn what innovative ideas are working across our sector and take part in experiential activities to build practical self-care and wellbeing practices in the workplace. Ending the conference with a sense of reflection, insight and calmness is what we intend participants experience from this session.
What to Expect to Get Out of It:
A deeper understanding of the emotional landscape of homelessness work and its impact on workforce wellbeing
Practical strategies for self-care and managing high-stress environments
Insights into organisational initiatives that support healthy, sustainable workplace cultures
An introduction to adaptable wellbeing tools for the homelessness sector in Queensland
Hands-on experience using tools and strategies that you can take back to your workplace
A supportive space to reflect, connect, and re-energise with peers
Facilitators:
Alicia Pont , Practice Specialist, Homelessness Qld
Jo Draper, Sector Capacity and Engagement Lead, QShelter
3.20
End of day 3