Keeping on TRAC
Are you looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community, and help Housing Choices Tasmania to improve the services we offer our residents? Then perhaps you’d like to consider joining the Tasmanian Resident Advisory Committee (TRAC). As a TRAC member you would be part of a small group making a big difference, by discussing emerging issues and offering Housing Choices Tasmania advice and recommendations from a resident’s perspective. The TRAC is an important part of the decision-making process at Housing Choices Tasmania. The TRAC provides input that can guide our decisions around service delivery, operations, policy updates and community development and engagement activities. It also gives residents the opportunity to raise collective issues and concerns. Being a part of the TRAC isn’t complicated, explains long standing committee Chair Gavin. “Everyone gets comfortable, we have a cup of coffee and a biscuit… It’s a general business meeting; everyone gets a copy of the minutes, everyone gets a copy of the agenda. It’s a matter of reading your minutes, seeing
Above: TRAC Chair Gavin prepares for a meeting with TRAC member Tania.
that they’re correct and then we vote on it. The agenda is what’s happening in the meeting. We go through it one point at a time.” It isn’t a huge time or financial commitment, either. “We do four meetings a year. Once we get talking, it doesn’t take long for an hour and a half to go, I can tell you that!” says Gavin. We’re looking for a diverse range of residents to join the TRAC and help shape the way our services are provided. We are particularly interested in expanding our membership to include more residents in Southern Tasmania. “If you struggle with literacy challenges but would like to be involved in the TRAC please let us know. We can work with you confidentially
to make sure you are able to bring your unique skills and experience to the meetings and set you up so that you would not have to read in the meetings,” says Sam van der Meulen, Team Leader Inclusive Communities. “It’s important for us to make sure we have input from across Tasmania, so our meetings are held online via video conferencing. TRAC members can join the meeting from one of our offices in Hobart, Devonport or Shorewell Park or dial in from home if they prefer,” adds Sam. If you’re interested in joining, Gavin has one final piece of advice: “Go ahead! You’ll get a lot out of it. And it broadens your horizons. It’s a fantastic thing to be on.”
If you would like to discuss becoming a TRAC member please contact our Community Development team at communitydevelopmenttas@hcau.org.au or 1300 312 447 . 7
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