Partnering for Growth

Kelleen: You meet everyone in the elevator. And everyone’s from a different walk of life.

There’s some lovely people that I’ve been seeing. I was going to really really stick to myself but I can’t.

You can see the struggles with some people and they’ve got a home. They’ve come from doing it pretty tough and here they are in a home.

Jean: When I was living in the house I was very isolated. I worked for 36 years as a teacher aide at pre-school. I tended to stay at home a lot after I retired. Living here I’ve met some really nice women and we’ve done lots of things together. And we go out every morning and have a cup of tea with the lady across the road. And no, it’s just the company and Just not being by yourself.

Diane: It’s just the fact that it’s sociable and you can be sociable if you want to or you can close your door if you don’t want to be. And that’s nice. It’s just nice to have people around and be available to you. Build relationships.

We do craft and we do chair yoga and we have a monthly takeaway night where we go down to the main hall there together. There’s probably about a dozen of us.

We’ve got one another’s phone number up and if ever we need anybody we’ve got somebody who’s close by.

Frances Paterson-Fleider, General Manager Housing Services, Churches of Christ in Queensland: Clearly there’s a need for appropriate accommodation for seniors and we have developed a number of products for seniors. We have another one underway. Another area that we see a gap is affordable products. The leap between social housing and the private rental market. It’s often too great for many people and there’s not enough affordable accommodation housing, affordable living products on the market.

Stuart Lummins, CEO, BHC: I know when I talk to tenants, and you ask them what’s an important thing to them in life, it is having that security of tenure, having an environment that’s safe. That allows them to deal with any other challenges that they might have and provides them with a platform that if they are dealing with mental health challenges, or things like that.

Fiona Caniglia, Executive Director, QShelter: Community housing providers have to play a vital role in bringing housing supply forward and achieving growth. So, removing every barrier, whether it be finding flexible ways to look at program delivery, or re-examining rent settings to ensure the sustainability and viability of community housing providers, finding those investment vehicles, and removing the barriers towards various types of community housing providers. Working in partnership with each other, and with other types of investors, to achieve interesting place-based solutions that respond to local need, but that also leverage those assets as best we can. Removing every policy and program barrier to growth, it’s vital.

Partnering for Growth is the Queensland Government’s commitment to work with the community housing sector to deliver more social and affordable housing.

For more information visit hpw.qld.gov.au