Accessing healthcare can be challenging for anyone, but for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, barriers such as cost, transport, stigma and navigating complex systems can make it even harder.
These challenges were explored in the latest edition of Council to Homeless Persons’ Parity magazine, where Neami’s Homelessness Access Program (HAP) in Geelong was featured as part of a discussion about homelessness as a health emergency.
Funded by Western Victoria Primary Health Network, the HAP helps people experiencing or at risk of homelessness connect with primary healthcare and navigate barriers that can prevent them from getting the support they need.
The article drew on the perspectives of Carys Herbert, Registered Nurse with the HAP, and explored how healthcare can become more accessible when services work alongside people in the communities where they already feel safe and connected.
It reflected on the barriers many people experiencing homelessness encounter when seeking healthcare, including cost, transport, stigma and navigating complex systems, and highlighted the value of integrated, person-centred approaches that bring health and homelessness services together.
Tara, who has accessed support through the program, shared her experience of having a supportive connection with a worker who kept showing up for her. ‘Carys saw right through my stubbornness,’ she said. ‘She broke down my barriers and made me feel really good about things.’
Carys has also reflected on the crucial role of relationship and trust in her work. ‘It means moving at the pace of the person, not the pace of the system,’ she said. ‘When someone is ready, you have to be ready too.’
The Parity issue was officially launched in Melbourne on 2 September 2026. A highlight of the launch event was a panel discussion featuring Carys and Tara. Together, they shared their perspectives on the health impacts of homelessness, barriers to care and the importance of support that is flexible, practical and built on trust.
