Where is the Door?

Connecting people to the right services at the right time.

Project background

Where is the Door? project was developed as part of the IF COVID-19 Response Plan, in response to the social and economic impact of COVID-19 on the community, and the greater numbers of people needing assistance, many of whom have never accessed social services before.

In 2023, pressure from interest rate rises and a higher cost of living is creating increased stress for individuals and families. Financial pressure can impact mental health and can be linked to increasing incidents of family and domestic violence. More people are reaching out for support for the first time and are unsure to where to go for help. Where is the Door? project is an early intervention approach to look at innovative ways for people to access the right services at the right time.

Imagined Futures – Where is the door project is provided by St Patrick’s Community Support Centre Inc and funded by Department of Communities.

Aims

The Where is the Door? project aims are to improve and test new ways of connecting vulnerable people to available supports and:

Enable timely access to services by ensuring people are aware of the supports available to them and how to access relevant supports.
A broad understanding and increased literacy for community members to help support and link family, friends, and neighbors to available supports.
Build on existing knowledge and approaches and develop the best approach to ensuring people seeking assistance across the South West Metropolitan region receive the right help, at the right time, by identifying and engaging early with people seeking or needing assistance.

Key Focus areas:

Mental Health
Family and Domestic Violence
Financial Wellbeing

Our Impact

Collaboration

Connecting with existing programs and services through IF collective impact approach and community partnerships to identify and respond to specific community needs using a placed-based approach, person-centered approach

Open Door Community

A group of community connectors – both paid and unpaid – working across the South West metropolitan region, meeting regularly to explore opportunities for delivering community engagement and networking, improving literacy of front-line workers and sharing integrated messaging aspects of the Where is the Door? framework.

Place-based solutions

Developing tools and resources and tailoring them to better connect specific groups to existing services in the local region, such as referral tools for GP’s, schools, police, or parents and carers.

Future Goals

Our future ambitions include:

Take a collective approach to community engagement and capacity building
Expand and target messaging and promotion
Develop more integrated service approaches
Provide an ongoing forum for sharing and developing good practice
Build literacy of front-line workers through engagement in community connector network