Library Connect: Early intervention to prevent homelessness

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated community hardship in many ways. There has been an increase in people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness due to financial hardship, employment impacts, and a dearth of affordable rentals and public housing. This has included an emergence of many people requiring support who might not have previously accessed community services. Against this backdrop of changing and increasing community need, the City of Fremantle and St Patrick’s Community Support Centre (St Pat’s) initiated the Library Connect project; embedding a qualified and experienced community support worker within the accessible, safe, and welcoming space of a public library.