Regional Coordinator – Yvonne Harris

In March 2020, Yvonne joined the Service Integration Initiative team at Q Shelter in the position of Regional Care Coordinator for the Mackay region. Yvonne is passionate about the work she does; with more than nine years’ service delivery experience in Community Housing Tenancy/Property Management of 132 LTCH households. Yvonne appreciates working alongside NGO Agencies, Government, residents and new clients alike to improve their housing outcomes. Throughout Yvonne’s career she has consistently acquired new skills to enhance her knowledge base.  Recognising how to support people and organisations to strengthen practice and build collective capacity for people with complex needs. Conscientious to deliver improved customer/client outcomes with practiced professional knowledge. Yvonne is the 2018 Recipient of the QShelter Deidre Coghlan Bursary and has a Certificate IV in Social Housing and Certificate IV in Financial Services.

Informed by the Queensland Housing Strategy 2017-2027, and driven by Partnering for Impact and Partnering for Growth, the Queensland Service Integration Initiative aims to create better outcomes for people who are homeless or at the risk of homelessness by enhancing existing care coordination mechanisms, identifying and enabling sector capability building opportunities and encouraging innovation in transforming the housing and homelessness sector. Auspiced by a number of place-based organisations through funding provided by the Department of Housing and Public Works, there are Regional Care Coordinators located at nine locations across the state; Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay, Brisbane (x2), Redlands, Logan and Gold Coast.

The Mackay region encompasses Whitsunday, Isaac, Mackay and surrounding areas. The WIMHHAN (Whitsunday, Isaac, Mackay Housing & Homelessness Action Meeting) is actively engaged with the Regional Care Coordinator. This collaboration will build on existing networks, ensuring contemporary person/family centered approaches are utilised when coordinating multi-disciplinary responses for people with complex needs.

This initiative will help drive improved processes and practices responding to the needs of vulnerable people who are homeless or at the risk of homelessness.