Our Assistance with Care and Housing program (ACH) provides targeted advocacy and support to older women and men who come to our Dining Hall. At the Mission we witness first-hand how people experiencing homelessness often prematurely age. For this reason ACH works with people aged 50 and over whose needs often can’t be met by mainstream services as they are below the age qualification for entry.
ACH clients often present with a range of challenges including physical ill health, cognitive impairment, mental health issues and acquired brain injury. Additionally, years of isolation and sleeping rough can make it difficult for older clients to trust workers.
Critical to ACH’s success is an ability to engage with people, build trust and gradually, sometimes painstakingly, support them by linking them into services they require, be they medical or housing related. Sometimes clients need hostel accommodation. Others are assisted to live independently in the community, in rooming houses or in their own flat.
