Post by Perth Inner City Youth Service (PICYS)

Our team at PICYS recently had the privilege of attending a training session with Noongar Mia Mia, where we gained valuable insight into the Noongar Housing First Principles (Mia Keny) and the importance of culturally grounded approaches to housing and homelessness support. A heartfelt thank you to Bettina Ugle and the Noongar Mia Mia team for generously sharing your knowledge, lived expertise, and vision for creating pathways to safe, secure, and culturally connected housing. Your commitment to embedding culture, self-determination, and community into housing practice provided meaningful perspectives that will continue to shape our work. One of our biggest takeaways was that Housing First is about far more than providing a roof over someone's head. The Noongar Housing First Principles highlight that sustainable housing outcomes are built through trust, relationships, cultural safety, trauma-informed practice, and strengthening connections to family, community, and Country. The concept of Mia Keny "going along together" is a powerful reminder that genuine partnership and walking alongside people are fundamental to supporting lasting change. At PICYS, we are grateful for opportunities to learn from First Nations-led organisations and to continually strengthen our practice through culturally responsive, person-centred approaches. We look forward to applying these learnings to better support young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Thank you again to the entire Noongar Mia Mia team for an engaging, insightful, and meaningful day of learning. #HousingFirst #FirstNationsLeadership #CulturalSafety #YouthHomelessness #TraumaInformedPractice #CommunityHousing #PICYS #NoongarMiaMia