Advance to Zero expands to Albany

Last week, WAAEH Executive Director Louise Olney, WA AtoZ Program Manager Deb Phillips, Local Community Coordinator Nick Mathieson and Katie Vos from the Office of Homelessness, met with several local organisations in the homelessness sector* in advance of formally starting as an Advance to Zero (AtoZ) community and act as catalyst for collaboration between local service providers and support agencies.  

AtoZ is a statewide and national change effort implemented by the WAAEH and its aim is to prevent, reduce and resolve all homelessness in WA through a ten-year strategy.  As part of this strategy, WAAEH empowers key stakeholders in the homelessness sector to take collective action against homelessness, starting with rough sleeping.  

“The Albany community has been working together for several years to advocate for more action in ending homelessness,” said Ms. Olney,  

“In 2024, the community gathered data that showed the government what needed to be done and as a result, WAAEH was funded to support Albany to become its own AtoZ community,” she continued.  

“We are very excited to be getting the initiative off the ground here so Albany can make data-informed decisions towards ending homelessness for rough sleepers in their community.”

By implementing  AtoZ in Albany, service providers can establish a By-Name list that presents a real-time picture of people experiencing homelessness in Albany. Through the By-Name list, service providers can pool resources and work collectively to provide tailored support to individuals and move them into housing that meets their specific needs.  

Service providers in Albany will also have a Local Community Coordinator, and Community Impact Advisors through the WAAEH that drive the practice of AtoZ through developing tools, resources, and facilitation of collaborative meetings. 

The AtoZ model is already being implemented successfully in Perth, Fremantle, Rockingham, Mandurah, Geraldton and Bunbury.

* WA police, Department of Communities, Anglicare WA, Pivot Support, Advance Housing, AHA Great Southern, City of Albany, Great Southern CLC, Southern Aboriginal Corporation, Department of Housing and Works, Albany Community Foundation, Wagyl Kaip Southern Noongar Aboriginal Corporation.  

18/03/2026 Advance to ZeroNewsNews and EventsWAAEH