From Resident, To Key Advisor
Dean’s mental illness had propelled him on a long, downward spiral. From a life of teaching and academia, he found himself struggling with methamphetamine addiction and bankruptcy, homelessness and crisis accommodation, suicide attempts, psychosis and finally, breakdown. In 2012, he spent seven months as an involuntary hospital in-patient emerging disoriented and paralysed with anxiety.
at how others’ lives were depressingly different from his. “Many can’t afford a social life, can’t pay their bills, have no insurance, have exorbitant rent that they can’t afford without a housemate and need charity food parcels. They’re often easily lured by pay-day loans, driving them further into more long- term debt. They’re very isolated and desperately lonely. We plan phone calls just to ensure they speak to someone during the week.” His committee was instrumental in working with Housing Choices and Good Shepherd on a new financial counselling program for residents, offering phone and face-to-face advice and practical workshops. “It offers basic money coaching, helps those on low or fixed incomes avoid pay-day loans or Centrelink advances, and better budget with what they have.” Dean believes empowering individuals with the tools and resources to make responsible choices is paramount to their recovery and success. He has no doubt that having a terrific home base started him on the pathway back to work and community life, to having hope, goals and a future. “My safe, welcoming new home with Housing Choices enabled me to trust, hope and connect again, for which I am ever-grateful.”
that the committee might be tokenistic. I was a bit sceptical. But Housing Choices has always fully engaged with us, takes us seriously and keeps us well-informed. “We’re all dealt with very professionally, our contribution is valued, our opinions heard. It’s not a box-ticking exercise. Housing Choices is very genuine in its intent.” Dean is immensely proud of his involvement with the committee. He is impressed by the comprehensive range of resident involvement in everything, from how to approach the issue of arrears, to setting up hardship provisions, from the wording of letters to residents, to the content and design of the website. Dean and the committee particularly enjoy administering the Community Development Fund, which supports a wide range of resident-run community projects. For him, the annual highlight is the Good Neighbour Awards. “They’re particularly effective in recognising and celebrating the community that Housing Choices has set out to foster. People look forward to it every year and they’re often gorgeously emotional.” Dean says his work on the committee restored his faith in his own capabilities and his employability. This motivated him to seek work in the mental health sector, where he could draw on both his professional and his lived experience. He joined a mental health peer support group, because he was concerned
With little self-esteem, no direction and little hope for the future, Dean prepared for the worst. Desperately down-sizing, he emptied the six bookshelves that had taken him a lifetime to collect. “I literally prepared myself for no life, subsisting in a cramped, dingy, rundown, soulless little flat,” he said. But when he met his Housing Choices housing officer at what was to be his new home, Dean was “astonished”. “Hardwood floors, great condition and layout, a garden, neighbours, close to shops and transport. What more could I want?” he said. “It catapulted me into having hope again.” Dean says Housing Choices’ affordable rent allows him to feed himself adequately, pay his utility bills, health and home insurance and even afford a social life. “I was able to save up and buy a computer, which allowed me to take on work projects, which in turn gave me back a sense of purpose and identity.” Dean began by engaging with the Resident Advisory Committee that provides direct input and feedback to Housing Choices on everything from policy to practice, from new initiatives to key performance indicators. “The Resident Advisory Committee was my first real work project after escaping hospital. “I wanted to give something back to the organisation that provided me such a wonderful home. My initial thought was
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