What made you want to work at Housing Choices? I always try and do a good amount of research about the organisation or something that I’m looking to apply for. I was thinking, okay, what could I do to bring some change into people’s lives? And I think having that experience in aged care, being able to chat to people and make them feel comfortable and welcomed, that’s something I’ve tried to do so I thought, I’ll apply. I could see Home Stories and I had a look at resident output and input into the newsletter and thought, well, that’s awesome. Resident voice is something I’ve always been passionate about, especially during my time working in aged care.
What does Pride mean to you? Pride is an everyday action for me. While there are incredible moments in the year when it’s more prominent, such as Pride Month or World Pride, it’s embedded into who I am. Pride empowers me to feel most like myself, whether that’s wearing what I feel most comfortable in, shaving my head, or using different pronouns. It brings people together and creates a safe community for those that identify as LGBTQIA+. In saying this, it’s also something to be celebrated. Pride Month, which is every year in June, gives us the opportunity to show up and say “hey, I’m happy to be who I am; this is me” at various events throughout the month, such as the Pride March. What’s something fun residents don’t know about you? I’m a fan of home haircuts. Over the pandemic, my hair got shorter and shorter, and I’d be dyeing it purple, pink, blue, whatever. It was like two weeks into this job and I’d already shaved my head. So you never know, you’ll see me one day and maybe you’ll see me a couple months down the track and I’ll look completely different, but inside I’m still the same.
Get Involved in Safety, Fire and Crime Prevention Housing Choices is hosting Fire Rescue Victoria and Victoria Police to hold an interactive Fire and Crime Prevention and Safety Activity. A great day is being planned for residents, residents’ carers, and support workers to interactively participate and hear about what Fire Rescue VIC – Community Resilience Program, and Victorian Police – Community Policing do in our communities, and to help keep us and our homes safe. Helpful information and resources will be available in English, other languages and for children too. The presentation will be followed by a lunch for residents and staff. Housing Choices will notify residents of the date. In the meantime, interested residents can register their interest with the Community Development and Engagement Team on communitydevelopmentvic@ hcau.org.au or call 0427 308 006.
Now that you’ve settled in, what’s something you hope to introduce at Housing Choices?
We’re doing some Pride stuff, which is really exciting. We’ve got some new builds coming up in Preston with our Thorne Harbour Health partnership and Pride is an important factor when it comes to social and community housing. I think it’s important we champion pride within the organisation, it’s something that’s very personal. Residents might feel safer knowing that we affiliate with the LGBTQIA+ community and could then feel more comfortable. That’s what I want to do in my role, make people feel comfortable and safe and achieve things that we can do in partnership.
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