Victorian Operations
DHHS will purchase properties for women and children escaping family violence. In partnership with Berry Street, In Touch Multicultural Services for Family Violence and Wintringham Housing, Housing Choices successfully received one-third of the total funding allocation, to which it added 25 per cent of its own funds to deliver 69 properties for the program. A total of 46 properties were successfully upgraded at the La Trobe Close project in North Melbourne to prevent stock loss at the site, and was managed on behalf of the Victorian Government by Housing Choices. Thirteen apartments which had been shut down due to unmet maintenance requirements, have now been refurbished and are back in use by residents. In partnership with Social Ventures Australia, a Social Return on Investment Forecast study was undertaken and results indicate that for every $1.00 invested in this project, a further $3.50 of social and economic value is expected to be created for stakeholders including the Victorian Government. Housing Choices is immensely proud of this project and, in particular, of the care and support provided to residents who were required to move out of their homes for a short period of time whilst the upgrade was completed.
With a decline in affordable housing in Victoria, community housing services have never been under more pressure. Last year, Housing Choices focused on innovative ways to deliver services to meet the growing demand for affordable housing for the most vulnerable Victorians and families on low incomes struggling in the current housing system. Over 90 per cent of residents remained in the same home over the past year, which means there is little access to affordable housing for people requiring services. In 2015-16, in partnership with the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services and key partners, Housing Choices supported 56 people in the transitional housing program by providing a pathway from homelessness to housing. Housing staff received and provided information to over 1,130 residents in the private rental system at risk of losing their homes due to rent arrears, as well as administering over $100,000 of funds to support people with a disability to remain in their private rental homes. Six new housing projects are now underway, which will deliver 145 additional dwellings, and nine projects are at planning stage, which will deliver a further 89 dwellings. To ensure there is adequate housing to meet the needs of residents, a capital upgrade program to housing stock was delivered to ensure that it is fit for purpose now and into the future. Last year over $1.1 million was spent on upgrading homes for residents. New dwellings and new partnerships were formed to support people moving out of crisis care and into accommodation. Such initiatives included; a development in Richmond for young veterans experiencing homelessness in partnership with the Returned Services League and a partnership with Sacred Heart Mission’s program Journey to Social Inclusion (J2SI) Mark II, providing homes and support to people who have experienced chronic homelessness. In response to the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence, Housing Choices in partnership with
Roberta Buchanan General Manager Housing Services, Housing Choices Australia
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Building for the future
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