Workshops

What your team takes away

Staff leave able to explain why homelessness happens, not just what it looks like. The workshops challenge existing beliefs about homelessness and mental health, examine the drivers behind the different types of homelessness, and work through current trends, funding and policy as they actually affect the people in the room.

For councils and libraries that means the procedural and policy questions as well — where a policy is homeless-prohibitive, what the organisation’s role has become, and what staff safety genuinely requires.

How the workshops are built

Every session follows the same spine: the lead up, the homelessness itself, and the aftermath. Lived experience is delivered as testimony rather than case study, and it is carried alongside the research and policy architecture that explains it.

The workshops address the structural causes of homelessness rather than offering scripts for individual interactions. Participants are asked to define what a resident is, and find they cannot do it in a way that excludes the people they were about to ask about. That exercise is the mechanism, not a warm-up to it.

The workshops

The Lasting Effects of Homelessness — trauma, mental health and beyond

A professional development workshop for organisations, companies and groups that wish to further develop their empathy and understanding towards homelessness. Those who experience homelessness are often spoken about rather than spoken to. Matt uses his own experience of homelessness to break down the stereotypes and prejudices that exist around it, and builds an empathetic and professional approach to the lasting effects that follow.

Local Government and Homelessness — understanding and solutions at the local level

Local governments have increasingly found themselves playing a larger role in homelessness responses and advocacy, and that larger role is often accompanied by funding and training issues. Matt uses his experience of homelessness alongside his experience in local government to work through what councils can and cannot do, the policy and procedural issues that get in the way, and how a council adapts to a role it did not ask for. Written for all local government departments, executives, professionals and staff.

Libraries and Homelessness — understanding their unique relationship

Libraries have inadvertently become a surrogate outreach centre for many homeless and at-risk patrons, as homeless services struggle to cope with underfunding and over-demand. Matt is a qualified librarian with a Masters in Information Management, and uses that alongside his own experience of homelessness to work through the issues facing library staff and how libraries can adapt. Tailored for public libraries, and applicable to other council and government administrative staff.

Scared Boys to Abusive Men — domestic abuse and gendered violence

A professional development workshop for staff working in the family and domestic violence field. Matt uses his personal experience of domestic abuse and violence to demonstrate how scared boys can evolve into abusive men, examining the environmental and societal pressures around toxic masculinity that compound matters for young males exposed to abuse. The workshop builds an empathetic and professional approach to explaining, while not condoning, gendered violence.

Working with a school? The school guest speaker sessions are curriculum-linked and written separately for Years 6 to 12.

Who we’ve worked with

Local governments across Western Australia, including the Cities of Perth, Stirling, Swan, Joondalup, Mandurah, Fremantle, Bunbury, Bayswater, South Perth, Busselton, Gosnells, Wanneroo, Canning and Belmont, the Town of Victoria Park and the Shire of Murray.

Services and not-for-profits including Saint Bartholomew’s House, PeelConnect, Uniting WA, Ruah Community Services, Vinnies WA, Zonta House Refuge Association and Mission Australia.

Government and tertiary, including the Department of Training and Workforce Development, the University of Western Australia and the North Metropolitan Health Service.