Adelaide has welcomed the city’s newest ‘Thinker in Residence’ who has been instrumental in Chicago experiencing a 25 per cent decrease in overall street homelessness.

Dr Nonie Brennan, former Chief Executive Officer of All Chicago, a not-for-profit organisation that works with a vision on “Making Homelessness History”  is dedicated to putting an end to homelessness which is the focus of her residency.

“I’m really excited to be back in Adelaide to further engage with the community as the city strives through the Adelaide Zero Project to end street homelessness by the end of 2020,” she said. “Reducing street homelessness requires a collaborative approach. Together, we need to create an environment where everybody has a home.

Dr Brennan continues homelessness is an issue which is solvable and getting more people into permanent housing needs to be a priority. This includes making accommodation of every kind available.

“During my residency, I’ll be working closely with both the public and private sectors as well as community housing providers to assist in fast-tracking solutions to safely and quickly move more people off the streets,” she said.

Latest Adelaide Zero Project data shows a significant decrease of nearly 40 per cent in people sleeping rough on the streets of Adelaide’s CBD, however these numbers continue to fluctuate each month.

During October, 141 people were actively sleeping rough in the inner city compared to 227 in May this year.

“Adelaide Zero Project has already made significant inroads, with a record 248 housing placements provided over the last 18 months – this is an outstanding achievement,” Dr Brennan said.

“However, additional resources and funding are still desperately needed to achieve Functional Zero street homelessness. Adelaide needs more affordable housing and I encourage landlords in the private rental housing sector to provide further support in having budget-friendly properties available,” she said.

Temporary accommodation for up to 22 people, including couples and people with pets, has become available with the reopening of the Waymouth Street boarding house as part of the Adelaide Zero Project.

The Don Dunstan Foundation’s Executive Director Ritchie Hollands says it’s a major coup Adelaide has secured Dr Brennan as its ‘Thinker in Residence’ on homelessness.

“Dr Brennan is globally recognised for securing, distributing and monitoring over $70 million in annual public and private funding to prevent and end homelessness in Chicago. With this expertise, Dr Brennan has much to offer those of us in Adelaide working to solve homelessness in our CBD,” Hollands said.

The Don Dunstan Foundation has partnered with the university, business and community sectors to deliver the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence program. Dr Brennan is Adelaide’s ‘Thinker in Residence’ from Monday 4 November until Friday 22 November.