Annie and Chris facilitate the S2H program in Hobart, assisting around 250 people each year.

“At any one time we have between 80-120 people on our caseload. We also have people outside our caseload who just need basic information, and a quick chat to be pointed in the right direction,” Chris said.

Chris has been in the role for the last 12 months and says it’s by far the most satisfying job he has had. Annie chimes in, “and you’ve got a great colleague.”

Annie has worked for the Salvation Army for the last decade, including six years in S2H, and she understands how important good working relationships are to making a difference.

“We work with a lot of complex people. There are challenges and different dynamics such as substance abuse, mental health and people being released from prison.”

“You need to have the right fit for this role, and Chris and I can read each other well. At times our job can be very confronting, and we need to know when to step back and leave someone alone and give them space,” she said.

The S2H program is aimed at linking in with people who are sleeping rough and guiding them by showing where services are available.

“We meet with people, connect with them to help with applications and referrals, provide bedding and clothing, drive them to appointments,” Chris said.

“Essentially, we are the middleman in helping people connect to services. We are out on the street all the time; our office is our car.”

Annie and Chris will often attach their details to client’s applications and are the primary contact for services. Often people don’t have phones and can’t be easily contacted, so Annie and Chris will locate them and work with the services.

“We provide support in any way we can. We also support people at risk of homelessness,” Annie said.

“It’s hard when you have been homeless, and you are then given a house. You can’t always just give someone a set of keys and leave them to it; they need life skills. We connect and support people with services to help them stay in their homes.”

“We go through the whole process when someone is allocated a house, so they don’t get overwhelmed. Things like sorting rent, working with services, organising furniture, and swapping power over can be a lot for someone to take in so we work through the checklist with them and help alleviate stress, so they don’t fall over at the start,” Chris said.

Annie and Chris both acknowledge the role has its challenges, and it is difficult seeing families facing homelessness and working with people experiencing family violence.

“Chris and I have set boundaries, and we debrief a lot on situations,” Annie said.

“We don’t promise anything or give anyone false hope. We don’t set anyone up to fail. If someone isn’t engaging appropriately or respectfully, we will step back and disengage until they are ready to appropriately engage.

“People aren’t frustrated with us, they are frustrated with their circumstances. We get that, but we have boundaries in place so both parties are treated with respect and can move forward together.

‘We stay in touch with people once they are housed, sometimes we will drop into their new place and say hi and check in on how they are going.”

When asked what drives them to show up every day, and what they love about their job, Annie and Chris both light up.

“Every day is different; we meet some amazing people. They share so much, and we walk the journey with them,” Annie said.

“We never know what is going to happen. You never know who you are going to meet or what kind of situation you are going to come across,” Chris said.

“I think we have a really good name, we work in collaboration with services and agencies and we try to help everyone in each situation the best way we can.”

S2H is operated by the Salvation Army and funded by Homes Tasmania. To find out more about the program visit Safety from ‘Street to Home’ in Tasmania | The Salvation Army Australia