Last year over two thousand Launch Housing clients accessed a program with an embedded health service.
Homelessness in Australia is a growing health emergency. Housing and health are deeply connected, and people are often dying from conditions caused by, or exacerbated by the experience of homelessness.
People with chronic or persistent experiences sleeping rough are dying an average of 30-40 years earlier than other people born at the same time. No-one should die because they do not have a safe place to sleep
People without stable housing experience far higher rates of suicide, mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder. Those with complex physical and mental health needs are more likely to experience long periods of homelessness and to cycle repeatedly through crisis services.
Many of the people we work with cannot access mainstream health services that are already overburdened. We need solutions that meet people where they are at.
Our integrated health supports can help break the cycle of poor health and homelessness. At two of our sites, we provide onsite nursing clinics. Our community health nurses regularly work with people who have experienced homelessness, delivering accessible, trauma-informed care within our services.
Launch Housing has two onsite nursing clinics: one at our Southbank crisis accommodation and the other at our permanent supportive housing project Elizabeth Street Common Ground.
As Community Health Nurses, they provide accessible, trauma-informed healthcare.
“We do this work because healthcare is a human right,” says Troy, one of two nurses based at our Southbank supported crisis accommodation. “In our careers, we’ve seen how stigma and systemic failures leave people without access to the care they deserve. Many of our clients have preventable conditions that, left untreated, escalate into medical crises. By offering accessible primary healthcare, we prevent unnecessary suffering and ease the burden on emergency services.”
Our nurses conduct health assessments, co-develop individual care plans, and support people to manage both acute and chronic conditions, always centring care around the individual. Beyond the practical impact, the nurses say this work is deeply meaningful.
“Our clients have often lost trust in healthcare,” says Jen, a nurse who is also based at our Southbank site. “We are privileged to be part of rebuilding that. Every small step – whether it’s a wound dressed, a chronic illness managed, or a person finally feeling heard makes a difference.
“We serve those who expect nothing, rather than those who expect everything,” Troy says. “The resilience and humanity we witness every day are what drive us to show up, listen, and provide care that restores dignity and hope.”
With empathy and real investment in housing and healthcare, we can create change.
“Compassion, not judgment, is the first step toward ending homelessness,” says Jen.
Our nursing clinics’ vital work is made possible thanks to the generosity of the philanthropic community.
