about the need for more investment into transitional housing and particularly into the social services being provided. “There’s money thrown at motels with no social services but wraparound social services providers are struggling for funding.” [Transitional housing provider with significant background in social services] Some shared a view that not all transitional providers have the necessary experience to deliver the support needed by their clients. They thought that, while providers have good intentions and genuinely want to help people in need, not all of them have adequate grounding in areas such as trauma-informed care, de-escalation, or an awareness of varying cultural needs. “It causes re-traumatisation when clients are being handled by a provider who is not traumainformed, or even those who say they are but don’t fully understand what this means.” [Social housing and social service provider/homelessness advocate] We also heard frustration about the change in accreditation standards required for transitional housing providers. Some social service providers had formerly held Level 2 Social Sector Accreditation Standards, often so that they could provide other services such as family harm support which were funded by MSD. We heard that after HUD took over from MSD on administering accreditation, all transitional housing providers are now only assessed against Level 3 standards (a lower level of accreditation). This change has resulted in some social service providers who had offered MSD-funded social services no longer being accredited to provide those services and therefore unable to apply for MSD funding. Lack of stability over housing situation Even though emergency housing is by its nature temporary, residents should still be able to have some degree of confidence about their ongoing housing situation. We heard from current and former residents and advocates about how the lack of housing stability is impacting families living in the emergency housing system. Some families have had to move from motel to motel as often as weekly because moteliers providing emergency accommodation only permit seven-day stays. Families may also have to move because transitional housing space is only available in a different suburb or region. At least two people told us that when they tried to decline accommodation that was too far away from school, employment, or didn’t meet their needs, they were told they would be taken off the housing register.32 The operation of the emergency housing grant was a particular frustration for many people because of its week-to-week nature and the stress of having it approved for another week. People told us they were living in constant fear and stress that for some reason the grant would not be approved again and they would have to move with nowhere else to go. Adding to this stress was the constant pressure many people felt from their MSD case manager to stop using the system, even when there was inadequate or absent support to find sustainable alternative options. Some people shared that they were told by their case manager that they needed to move out of emergency accommodation and into a private rental because they had stayed too long, even though there was no affordable private rental housing available. At the other end of the spectrum, some people – both residents and advocates – expressed frustration that families were eventually placed 29