Advance to Zero (AtoZ) is a national initiative of the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness (AAEH) that supports local collaborative efforts to end homelessness, starting with rough sleeping – one community at a time.
Using a range of proven approaches from around the world, communities are supported not just to address individual instances of homelessness, or even reduce overall homelessness, but to end it altogether. We define an end to homelessness as being rare, brief and once-off. Underpinned by a Housing First approach, AtoZ uses a combination of near real-time data collected through by-name lists and service coordination to form a picture of the names and needs of people experiencing homelessness in particular communities. Each AtoZ community aims to reach a milestone called ‘functional zero’, which is achieved when a community can demonstrate that their system is routinely housing more people than are coming into it.
QUEENSLAND ADVANCE TO ZERO - FAQs
GENERAL QUESTIONS
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The Advance to Zero framework is based on the internationally successful and evidence based Built for Zero methodology and adapted to the Australian context.
By knowing people experiencing homelessness by name and understanding their needs, we can coordinate our efforts to connect people to housing and supports – one person and one family at a time.
The Advance to Zero framework allows us to learn a lot about homelessness in our communities:
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- Who is living without a home.
- What supports they need to get into housing and stay housed.
- The length of time a person has been homeless.
- What strategies are or are not working towards our goal of solving homelessness.
It is not just a process of collecting data. The AtoZ data enables us to collaborate and find pathways to housing and supports for each person and family on the By-Name List.
It provides us with local-based insights that can be acted upon to improve our strategies towards ending homelessness.
De-identified data can help us to track our progress as well as identify system gaps, and advocate for systems change.
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The Advance to Zero (AtoZ) Campaign in Australia is led by the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness (AAEH). Formally, there are 24 Zero communities across Australia part of the Alliance, 15 of which are regularly reporting data.
In Queensland, Zero Communities are established in Brisbane, Logan, and Gold Coast. with more communities in the early stages of setting up, such as, Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay, and Central Queensland. Organisations participating in the AtoZ communities includes Specialist Homelessness Services, Housing Providers, other support services providers and Government organisations.
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It is a voluntary triage tool based on people’s disclosed information. It is used to match appropriate housing and support services.
The AHVTT provides information on individuals, youth, and families’ demographics, homeless history, social and daily needs, risk and safety, health and wellness. AHVTT data is also stored in the CSnet database with the goal of providing housing and supports need information for every individual, youth, and family in the By-Name List.
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