Autumn 2024
Meet the case coordinators P3 2023 Resident Survey results P4 A transfer to a more tranquil life P6
HChoicesSA
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From the General Manager
Hi everyone, welcome to the Autumn edition of Home Stories . I hope your summer was
A huge thank you to our residents who took the time to respond to our 2023 annual survey a full overview of the results is included in this edition, with SA specific actions to follow. I’m again delighted to bring you stories of our residents thriving, not only in their own homes, but also in their wider community. Steven and Elizabeth, who worked with their Housing Officer on a transfer and have found their first home together, and Adelaide Fringe-performer Jayne, who gives so much to the community using her vocal talents, and even put on a special performance for Housing Choices SA residents this year.
We take a moment this edition to introduce our Case Coordination team as well. We are so proud to deliver the Common Ground program in South Australia, and this team play a vital role in supporting residents to achieve their goals and aspirations, along with a stable place to live. In this newsletter you’ll also find some great tips on managing waste and see some of the beautiful
filled with sunshine, relaxation and perhaps a little bit of the ‘March madness’ that hits our lovely city each year. After an unexpected period of leave last year, I’m back leading our SA based team, and I hope to see you around soon.
Julie Duncan General Manager, South Australia green spaces that took out the annual ‘Spring Gardening Awards’. Til next time, stay safe,
Acknowledgement of Country
Housing Choices South Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land where this publication is produced, the Kaurna people, and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who are part of the Housing Choices community.
Cover: Housing Choices Resident Jayne with the 2024 Fringe guide.
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Above: Liz, Tash, Mynie, Fiona, Anne, Karen and Dan from the Client Services team.
Meet the case coordinators!
The Common Ground program, based in and around Light Square in the CBD, not only provides people with permanent housing, but also with any support needed to achieve stability in their tenancy, and achieve goals or aspirations they may have. Case Coordinators (part of the Client Services team) provide this support, working alongside residents to provide information and advice, make referrals, advocate, assist with goal setting and sometimes to just be a listening ear. Case Coordinators can connect people to the resources they require to live full and productive lives and to encourage, coach, mentor and to cheer on from the sidelines. The team value being able to support people to recognize and celebrate their individual successes. The Client Services team also works in close partnership with the Inclusive Communities team (to deliver programs that support resident connection, wellbeing and inclusion) and with the Housing and Property teams (to ensure tenancies, buildings and shared spaces within the Common Ground environment are sustained and maintained.) Next time you see someone from the team, please say hello!
Specialist Disability
Accommodation – now available! Housing Choices SA currently owns 10 SDA properties in both Adelaide CBD and Bowden, both with exciting vacancy opportunities. If you or a family member or friend are a NDIS participant, and would like to know more about HCSA’s SDA housing available, please visit our website housingchoices. org.au/properties Alternatively, for further information contact Adrian McHugh, SDA Participant Engagement Specialist at sdainfo@hcau.org.au or on 0448 597 465.
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2023 Resident
Survey results
A huge thank you to our residents who took the time to respond to our 2023 annual survey. We had 35% of our residents complete the survey nationally which is an invaluable amount of feedback. This year we nationalised and expanded our survey so we can better understand how residents view our services across Australia and compare what is working well and where we need to improve in all the states we operate in.
Areas of service most important to residents 1. Repairs and Maintenance 2. Overall condition of home 3. Communications with Housing Choices 4. Your neighbourhood as a place to live Activities residents are most interested in • Providing feedback on our services • Understanding more about maintenance and repairs • Social and wellness activities • Dealing with anti-social behaviour
What you told us We are thrilled to see that our residents are more satisfied with our services this year across majority of our service areas. Resident satisfaction has improved nationally by an average of 4% across all the areas below.
overall satisfaction 84 %
satisfied with condition of home 84 %
satisfied with maintenance and repairs 83 %
85 %
76 %
satisfied with neighbourhood
Satisfied with how we take your views into account
Satisfaction with resident involvement 75 %
Satisfied with communications 84 %
While we are happy to see the majority of our residents are satisfied with our services, we know there is room for improvement. We are currently developing action plans to address issues raised in the survey and look forward to sharing these actions in our Winter edition of Home Stories.
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A seasoned singer: Jayne’s latest Fringe show
The Fringe Festival is an Adelaide institution. It’s South Australia’s only open access arts festival, attracting more than 4.5 million attendees in 2023 alone. This year marks local resident Jayne’s 15 th or 16 th (she can’t quite recall) Fringe Festival performance. She wouldn’t miss it for the world. As a talented tenor vocalist, Jayne loves singing and watching a show evolve. “I love how quirky Fringe is, you’re bound to find something you like and there is always a surprise,” Jayne said. Aardvark Alone, was the cryptic title of this year’s show, performed by three vocalists - including Jayne - and an instrumental duo called Tin Can Alley . This was her first year working
with a new male singer, Christopher, and it brought a great depth. “The show is very harmony rich and a lot of fun,” she said. “The highlight this year was probably the harmonies. I think the audience enjoyed singing along to some well-known songs - including Bob Dylan and even Led Zeppelin. In a crowd, it doesn’t matter what your voice sounds like, you can just sing.” Appealing to a wide range of people is key to a great Fringe show and something seasoned performer Jayne knows well – she performed in six shows this year alone. “There was something for everyone, something sad, something serious, some love songs and some comedy,” Jayne said.
“There has been some great audience interaction this year which has been good – good for connection and what singing is really about.” Jayne’s passion for singing is clear, but it’s also obvious how much she enjoys sharing music with others. Jayne worked with the Inclusive Communities team to put on a special free performance for Housing Choices SA residents in the Spence on Light space in March. Plus, she’s a part of the Tutti Choir. The choir is open to disabled and non-disabled singers, known for its uplifting performances – and even performed a surprise song at her daughter’s wedding. “Even as a child I loved to sing – I would sing myself to sleep.”
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A transfer to a more tranquil life
Elizabeth with her guide dog Lacey.
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Above: Jesse, Elizabeth and Steven in their new home.
When vision impaired residents Steven and
“I’ve been through a lot of, housing organisations, through most of my life, and I’ve never had support like Gary has given.” This is the first time Elizabeth and Steven have lived in a house that’s new to them both, and they are delighted. They said moving into a new home together has brought them closer together, and enabled them to support each others goals. Having met a few years ago at Beyond Blindness event, it wasn’t exactly love at ‘first sight’, Elizabeth said: “But he invited me over, made me the best spaghetti bolognese ever and started playing Pink Floyd on his guitar. And I guess that was it!”
Their shared love of music is evident in their new home, instead of a lounge, the back room is full of vinyl records, all kinds of guitars, a piano and drum kit. But the best thing about the transfer might be that Elizabeth and Steven had the space, and the safety, to host Christmas for the first time – complete with an enormous pine Christmas Tree. “It was such a heartwarming feeling to be able to have everyone over and just be like, ‘this is our place, welcome’,” Elizabeth said. “I guess we want to just let people know that just because it’s Community Housing, it doesn’t mean it can’t be a real home. This is home for us.”
Elizabeth needed to transfer homes, Gary, from Housing Choices South Australia’s Housing Team facilitated a move to a property that suited their specific needs. Steven is vision impaired, while his partner Elizabeth is blind, and this makes them feel especially vulnerable to safety concerns. Gary and the wider Housing Team were able to facilitate a transfer to a different Housing Choices SA property. The new home needed to accommodate Elizabeth’s seeing eye dog Lacey and Steven’s son Jesse, and be close to their former location. “Gary worked so hard with our disability support coordinator and the Housing Choices SA team, and he just made this happen. We are just so grateful,” Steven said.
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Above: Housing Officer Sarah pictured with resident David during a recent clean-up day. Many of David’s items were kindly donated to the local Salvation Army Opportunity Shop.
Need a little extra hand?
Above: Jacqueline and Gerry celebrating their ‘fake Fringe’ wedding!
Unholy matrimony in the city of churches
Sometimes it can be challenging to get clutter under control. If you’re finding this challenging, please consider speaking with your Housing Officer to see how they can assist you with waste removal or connect you with local services.
It’s not every day we can say there’s a wedding between residents! Two Housing Choices SA residents, Jacqueline and Gerry, had a bit of fun this past month, taking part in a fake wedding as part of an Adelaide Fringe experience at Light Square / Wauwi. The ‘Inflatable Church’ is a one-of-a-kind, interactive wedding experience complete with music, dress ups, vows, objections, and lots of laughs – where anything can and does happen. Congratulations to the happy couple!
Above: Sarah knows the old saying - ‘One person’s trash is another person’s treasure’.
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Bigger items? How about a Hard Waste collection? Hard Waste is about removing unwanted household items that don’t fit into a waste bin and is useful if you’re moving or spring cleaning. Items like mattresses, car seats and furniture are often disposed of as part of Hard Waste or Rubbish collections. The City of Adelaide, City of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters, Campbelltown City Council and Port Adelaide Enfield Council offer Hard Waste Collection services. These can be booked through each council’s website.
What goes in which bin?
It can be hard to know which bin to use when it comes to household waste. Luckily, there’s a handy SA government website called ‘Which Bin?’ to help! Disposing of our household waste properly is everyone’s responsibility – and better for the environment. Simply visit whichbin.sa.gov.au, type in your suburb and the item you want to throw out, and it will help you determine ‘which bin’ to use! https://www.whichbin.sa.gov.au/tips
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CONNECTING TO EMPLOYMENT Employability Skills Program
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
WHAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE
PROGRAM DETA I LS
Are you currently looking for work or are you thinking about entering the workforce in the future? Do you want assistance to plan your career pathway or learn the skills to help you win and excel in your next job? This program is open to Housing Choices SA residents and Catherine House clients. Participants must be willing to commit to the full 3-week program, delivered across two half days per week.
Prepare for your next career move with hands-on sessions delivered by MADEC RTO 3957 and the Renewal SA Works Program. MY TOOLKIT Tailor your resume and cover letter to help you win that job. LET’S TALK WORK Learn effective workplace communication techniques. CAREER DISCOVERY Learn about current labour market trends and discover which career pathways align with your interests and strengths.
WHEN Mondays and Thursdays 9:00am – 1:00pm May 6 to 23 2024 WHERE Wauwi Inparrila 11 Mellor Street, Adelaide SA 5000 COST This program is FREE for Housing Choices SA residents through the support of Housing Choices SA and the Renewal SA Works Program. Residents should not attend if feeling unwell.
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST
Places are limited. To register your interest in attending this program please contact: The Inclusive Communities Team by Noon on Monday 22 April 2024 1300 312 447 or communitydevelopmentsa@hcau.org.au
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
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Above: Neat and Tidy Garden winner Kym.
Above: Michael and Kenneth in the Spence on Light Courtyard ‘Oasis’.
Garden gurus
A big congratulations to our Spring Gardening Competition winners! It was another great effort from our green-thumbed residents. We are always amazed to see how residents green up all kinds of spaces – suburban yards, small balconies and communal courtyards - with flair and creativity. Our winners were: Lorraine - Best Garden (plaque pictured) Michael and Kenneth - Best Communal Garden (pictured) Dianne + Lily - Best Balcony Garden (tie) Kym - Neat and Tidy Garden (pictured)
The Bunnings team at Windsor Gardens were our judges again this year, and we would like to thank all those who entered!
Above: Best Garden winner Lorraine has the plaque proudly displayed in her beautiful garden.
The Spring 2024 Gardening Competition will open in July 2024.
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Home Stories Autumn Puzzle Win a $50 Bunnings voucher!
Find all the words in the word search except for one, which is not actually in the grid. Words may be forward, backward, up, down or diagonal.
A U T U M N I N G H K O S R E S S D G H M O M Y J A B N N F O C A A E S A P B B U F R M R R A U D R A M T T C S D E P R S O O C E R U S A E R T E E S F I R A P I L A O R O S I F D O R G J J O F D N A C D F G T E H A E E O Y N O M R A H E S E N B V C B A P A S S I O N T D S T E N N E U K X C A T S R N I C A A R T L H A T J J M K A D L I A D R X S R U U C K A B F C C H H L T L V A T S S A D K D A H U C B P T G S T H U E U P W T C E C W M H A S H C W B O E C I D G N I N E D R A G G T L O D D T L R S P E U A R W O S T A B N R A L T G F W V A O C O L O U R F U L C M A N K E E L Z I S A H A N A D D R F E L P L G D D N H G T O L S B T A T E A T N E R A C W H O G S L S F W U R D R E N Y T T T A D E E A I E E D L G O L D E N U N S O R F G Q F I M E T E R P D Y T I N M M D O O H R U O B H G I E N
FIND THESE WORDS IN THE GRID
Colourful Care
Autumn Treasure Gardening
Accommodation Home Neighbourhood
Passion Challenge
Resident Music Creative
Golden Football Harmony
Congratulations to Ahmed for solving the Summer Home Stories puzzle. The answer was ‘sunglasses’. Only one entry is allowed per household. The winner will score themselves a $50 Bunnings voucher and will be drawn from the correct entries. Good luck! Please tell us the remaining word before Friday 31 May by emailing communitydevelopmentsa@hcau.org.au
Contact us: Please get in touch at any time if you have any questions or suggestions. For maintenance requests please call 1300 153 850 or report via our website: www.housingchoices.org.au/contact/report-a-repair
General Enquiries 1300 312 447
Maintenance
192 Waymouth Street Adelaide SA 5000
infosa@hcau.org.au housingchoices.org.au
1300 153 850
12 Disclaimer: To the best of Housing Choices Australia’s knowledge (Housing Choices), this information is valid at the time of publication. Housing Choices makes no warranty or representation in relation to the content or accuracy of the material in this publication. Housing Choices expressly disclaims any and all liability (including liability for negligence) in respect of use of information provided. Housing Choices recommends you seek independent professional advice prior to making any decision involving matters outlined in this publication.
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