General News
28 July, 2026
Giving 200 people hope
MORE than 200 homeless people have rebuilt their lives in the 10 years Mission Australia’s Woree House has been operating.
The first tenant moved into Woree House on 17 June 2016 and remained until October 2017. Since then, the supported accommodation service has provided 203 tenancies, offering people experiencing chronic homelessness a pathway to long-term housing through personalised case management and ongoing support.
Over the past decade, the longest tenancy lasted 1610 bed nights before the resident transitioned into an aged care support service. The youngest tenant was 19-years-old and the oldest was 72.
Of the 203 tenancies, 83 tenants identified as Aboriginal, 25 as Torres Strait Islander, 25 as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and 63 as non-Indigenous.
For peer support worker Jasmen Sivyer, the milestone is deeply personal.
Having experienced homelessness for much of her life before receiving support through Mission Australia, Ms Sivyer now works alongside people facing many of the same challenges she once experienced herself.
“For me, it started when I was a kid,” she said.
“It’s kind of been an intergenerational issue with my family, from house to house ... I ended up getting put in my dad’s custody after so many years of unstable housing.”
She said years of instability continued into adulthood before she eventually returned to Cairns and connected with Mission Australia. “Mission Australia... they were actually really amazing, like they helped me so much,” she said.
“I was kind of broken when I come back and I was so just ready to just jump ship.
“It took a lot of them just being patient with me ... it took me a long time to rebuild that trust.”
Even after finding stable accommodation, she said the emotional effects of homelessness remained.
She said growing up without stability meant it took years to feel comfortable putting down roots.
“I’ve gotten used to having to be on hyper-vigilant mode, having a backpack ready to go. Never feel comfortable where I was,” Ms Sivyer said.
Mission Australia regional manager Barbra Burton said Woree House’s 10-year milestone reflected the life-changing outcomes achieved by residents over the past decade.
“Ten years is always a great milestone for any service,” she said. “For us, the fact that Woree House is about supporting people to learn the tenancy skills that they can move on, and then we support them into what we call often their forever home ... so, for us, that gives us a sense of pride.”
