Our January session of Pathways, Crossroads & Solidarity ~ Beyond the Silos dives into the overlaps that shape real practice: where systems silo, where people fall through the cracks, and where solidarity becomes vital. This month, we explore the crossroads between housing and other sectors and the daily realities faced by people moving between services.

We’re joined by 4 amazing speakers who each have unique perspectives on housing and homelessness. Their expertise connects directly with the challenges we see every day: siloed systems, duplicated responses, and the way structural disadvantage compounds at the point of crisis. and the vital intersections

Michelle Debert

Michelle Debert is a social worker, sector leader and proud scallywag solving homelessness. As Sector Capacity and Projects Lead at Q Shelter, Queensland’s peak body for homelessness and housing, Michelle brings over a decade of frontline and systems experience, alongside lived experience of chronic homelessness. She is deeply committed to shifting service delivery, driving systems reform and advancing Housing First as the pathway toward functional zero homelessness.

Marty Wright

Marty brings Lived Experience of homelessness and it's intersections in both Australia and overseas, offering a rare and grounded perspective on how housing systems operate across contexts. He works as an Outreach Worker with QuIHN at Common Ground, within a Housing First model, where his role sits at the intersection of housing, AOD, and the complex social and structural factors that shape people’s pathways into and out of homelessness. Marty’s work reflects the realities of system overlap and the importance of integrated, human led responses.

Mandy Thompson

Mandy Thompson is a long-standing advocate for systems reform, with 35 years experience across homelessness, housing, domestic and family violence, child protection and family support. Mandy brings a deep understanding that homelessness does not occur in isolation and that services must be flexible, integrated and responsive to the full context of people’s lives.

Stephen Hawkins

Stephen Hawkins brings extensive experience across government, peak and community sectors, working at the intersection of housing, homelessness, mental health and community systems. Since 2008, Stephen has led and delivered human centred program design, implementation and evaluation, including integrated service responses, peer-led mental health housing initiatives and place-based system reform. He is committed to preventative, evidence based and outcomes focused approaches that strengthen coordinated service systems for people facing housing insecurity.