Supported housing is a model that provides transitional and long-term homes with crucial wraparound services to help individuals and families who have experienced homelessness, trauma, or deep disadvantage to maintain their tenancy and achieve long-term stability.
Hobart City Mission is urging political candidates to move beyond simply building more public housing and instead prioritise and invest in “supported housing.”
Media release – Hobart City Mission, 11 July 2025
Smart Investments, Real Homes – Hobart City Mission Urges
Independents and Parties to Back Supported Housing in Election
As Tasmanians prepare to head to the polls, Hobart City Mission (HCM) is urging all political parties, and independent candidates who may hold the balance of power, to commit to smarter, more effective housing policy and funding.
The community services organisation is calling for a shift from a narrow focus on building more public housing, to a more cost-effective investment in supported homes.
These are transitional and long-term homes that come with wraparound services to help people who have experienced homelessness, trauma, or deep disadvantage to remain housed in the long term.
“It’s not enough to simply put a roof over someone’s head,” said Harvey Lennon, CEO of Hobart City Mission.
“We need to make sure that roof doesn’t come crashing down weeks or months later when someone is left without support to manage their tenancy, their trauma, or their recovery journey.”
From young mums and dads at risk of losing their children into the child protection system, to people exiting shelters or sleeping in tents, cars or rough locations, the need for ongoing, trusted and non-judgemental support is urgent.
Hobart City Mission’s proven programs, including Small Steps, DIY Dads and Mountain View, offer safe homes with dignity and guidance, and at a fraction of the cost of building new homes.
“If we’re serious about keeping people out of homelessness, out of emergency departments, and out of the criminal justice system, we must fund what works,”
said Bob Walker, Senior Manager for Family, Housing and Community Services.
“That means investing in people, not just in buildings.”
The cost of failing to support people properly is staggering, both in human terms and economic terms.
“We know that investing in supported housing saves the State Government money in the long run,” Lennon said. “Mountain View, for example, saves around $7.50 for every dollar spent. That’s a smart investment by any standard. And the financial benefit is actually double that amount because Hobart City Mission are willing to share the funding burden through our community donations.”
With limited public funds and mounting social challenges, Hobart City Mission argues that the state can no longer afford to ignore the evidence.
“If the Government built one less housing unit, and instead invested that money into programs like Mountain View, we could keep more than 40 people housed and out of crisis every year,” said Lennon.
“That’s the equivalent of saving the need for seven or eight new homes or units through prevention alone.”
Programs like Coming Home, Small Steps and DIY Dads have helped dozens of families avoid breakdown and find a stable path forward.
Young mums, some as young as 16, are given the support they need to raise their children safely, in a home, with access to continued education, parenting support, and a community of trust. DIY Dads provides similar support to single fathers who would otherwise struggle to maintain custody of their children or find safe housing.
“Without programs like these, more children end up in the child protection system, at enormous financial and social cost,” Walker said.
“But when we keep families together and housed, we see real improvements in child development, school attendance, employment, and long-term wellbeing.”
HCM welcomed the announcement today from Peter George, Independent candidate for Franklin, who pledged to prioritise supported housing solutions.
“It’s encouraging to see a candidate call for housing policy that doesn’t just sound good in a headline, but actually works for the people who need it most,” said Lennon.
“We hope other independents and major parties follow his lead.”
Hobart City Mission is also challenging harmful stereotypes about people who experience homelessness or housing instability.
“The people we work with are not broken or hopeless. They are strong, resilient and full of potential. What helps is connection, respect and support from people they can trust,” Walker said.
Hobart City Mission is urging all parties and candidates to:
• Appropriately fund supported housing options, especially those at risk of closing which would be devastating to the community and far more costly to government.
• Invest in proven programs like Mountain View, Small Steps and DIY Dads that provide a significant saving to government as Hobart City Mission provide most of the funding for these programs.
• Recognise the cost savings from proactive, preventative co-investment • Stop the cycle of homelessness, hospitalisation and incarceration with the right support at the right time.
“We do what others don’t, and we do it because it works,” Lennon concluded.
“This election is an opportunity to build a future where no Tasmanian is left behind. Not because we spent more, but because we spent smarter.”
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