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30-Jul-2025 | Housing & Homelessness

Homelessness Week 2025 - Reflecting with the LEES System Advisors

SYC’s Lived Experience Engagement Service (LEES) plays a key role in strengthening the voices of people with lived experience of homelessness and housing insecurity. LEES is committed to ensuring these perspectives help guide and inform the South Australian Government’s housing and homelessness system’s reform process. At the centre of this service is the Lived Experience Reference Group (LERG), a group made up of System Advisors who bring their first-hand knowledge and expertise to the policy table.

For Homelessness Week 2025, we sat down with the reference group to discuss their experiences as System Advisors. Some members have been involved from the outset in 2021, when the Reference Group was first formed to help develop the Lived Experience Framework, while others have recently become members, adding valuable perspectives from their own journeys.

The members of the reference group come from a range of backgrounds and experiences. Each has a unique story, but all are united by their motivation to drive change within the homelessness and housing system and influence the design and development of responsive services that adapt to the evolving needs of diverse communities. They chose to become involved to help shape policy and service delivery, and to empower those whose voices are often unheard. Some were motivated by their own experiences of homelessness and a strong resolve to help future generations avoid the struggles they faced. Others saw an opportunity to use their knowledge to improve services and become advocates for fairness and compassion within the system.

Reflecting on their lives before joining the group, one member shared:

“[I was] concerned about people who can’t put themselves forward. A lot of people aren’t able to be proactive because they don’t have the knowledge or like to put themselves forward. They also might not have the mental health that enables it.”

Another reflected:

“It’s easy to give up when you’re in the system.”

Reference group members bring an insightful view of the homelessness and housing system in South Australia. Some have successfully navigated their way through the service network, while others have encountered significant barriers, particularly when health, resources or confidence prohibit them from accessing the help available.

Speaking about the emotional toll of homelessness, a member described:

“You feel alone, isolated, worthless and the shame and blame impinges on your psyche and every part of you.”

Another added:

“The trauma from pre, during and post homelessness doesn’t go away by itself.”

For many members, being part of the reference group is more than consultation—it’s meaningful involvement in shaping a better system. It gives them a platform to use their experiences constructively and address service gaps that contribute to homelessness.

“[Being in the reference group enables me to] use what abilities I have and use my experience to ensure that someone doesn’t go through the same thing I went through.”

Some view their roles as a way to make sure their struggles were not in vain. By putting forward solutions, identifying weaknesses and strengthening services, members aim to help others to avoid the hardships they have faced.

On the question of how to end homelessness, one member expressed:

“Apart from funding and money utilised to improve services, an awareness of the factors that lead to homelessness and a change of attitude in society about who a homeless person is.”

Another put it simply:

“People first… Our most vulnerable need to be priority.”

Discussing the impact of their involvement in the group, one member said:

“It only takes one person to make a difference”

Another observed:

“[I see it as an] opportunity to bring people with lived experience and the sector together”

SYC is proud to empower people with lived experience to contribute directly to policy and service reforms. The reference group underscores a fundamental principle: those who have lived through homelessness are uniquely placed to advise on the structures and services designed to help people in crisis. Together, we aim to create a future where everyone has a place to call home, and where the policy decisions that affect people’s lives are made with their insight, dignity and expertise at the centre of the conversation.

If you reside in South Australia and have lived experience of homelessness, and are interested in becoming a Lived Experience Reference Group System Advisor, please get in touch with LEES via email at [email protected]