The Mental Health-Housing In Reach Service (MH-HIRS) pilot program is a joint initiative between NSW Health and Homes NSW/Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ).
MH-HIRS provides targeted support to individuals who are at risk of homelessness on discharge from mental health inpatient services through pre and post discharge case management support. The program aims to prevent homelessness by establishing and maintaining continuity of care in the community using a holistic and person-centred approach to identifying pathways to stable accommodation.
The program operates in 3 local health districts (LHD): Sydney and South Eastern Sydney (delivered by Wesley Mission) and Central Coast (delivered by Uniting NSW.ACT).
MH-HIRS promotes cross-agency collaboration and strategically aligns with key NSW Government policy frameworks, including the Housing and Mental Health Agreement 2022 (HMHA 22) and No Exits from Government Services into Homelessness: A framework for multi-agency action.
The Ministry of Health commissioned Health Consulting Collaborative to undertake an 18-month evaluation of the MH-HIRS program. The evaluation ran from June 2022 to December 2023. Methods included data analysis and linkage of 253 program participants and consultations with LHDs and non-government organisations (NGOs).
Overall, the evaluation results indicate that the program is working to provide MH-HIRS participants with greater continuity of care and accommodation in the community, while enhancing cross-agency partnerships.
The factors identified as most important for the success of the MH-HIRS program were: