Assertive Housing Unit

What AHU Delivers

This is a demo or example of a ShareCraft practice to help users understand how the system works. It is not a real program. The Assertive Housing Unit (AHU) is an intensive, wraparound support program for adults experiencing, or at significant risk of, homelessness. Instead of waiting for people to find their way to a service, AHU workers go to them, in parks, shelters, crisis and transitional accommodation, hospitals, and the community, to build trust, respond to crisis, and navigate a pathway into temporary and, ultimately, stable housing.

Six core activities:

• Intake and assessment of need
• Crisis response
• Case management into temporary housing
• Addressing barriers to housing
• Warm referral to other services
• Planned exit

Why It Works

AHU is built around three integrated streams, Engagement, Housing, and Wellbeing, delivered by a low-caseload Key Worker (approximately 10 to 15 clients) who coordinates a multidisciplinary team rather than carrying every need alone. Crisis response sits inside an ongoing relationship rather than being a standalone service, and warm referrals mean no client is left to navigate complex systems by themselves.

The cost of inaction: a night in a psychiatric inpatient bed costs approximately $1,220, a night in hospital $1,093, a day in court $1,574, compared to $120 for a night in crisis accommodation. AHU's model exists to reduce this costly cycling by intervening early and consistently.

Grounded in a Trauma-Informed Practice Framework

AHU practice is guided by the Healing Trauma Framework (HTF) and a trauma-informed, strengths-based approach, prioritising safety, dignity, voice and choice, and culturally safe practice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, CALD, and LGBTIQA+ clients.

What Licensees Get

A structured model for delivering assertive outreach and case management to complex, high-need cohorts, including a client segmentation approach, a multi-domain assessment framework, and an Outcomes Scorecard to track progress from Crisis toward stability across eleven domains.