Autumn 2024
2023 Resident Satisfaction Survey results P3 Out and about Harmony Day P4 Resident Profile - Mahlet finds home P5
HChoicesTAS
From the General Manager
Hi everyone, and welcome to the Autumn edition of Home Stories . As always, it’s been a busy time here at Housing Choices Tasmania. We’ve been reviewing the 2023 Resident Satisfaction Survey results, which are summarised on page 3. We celebrated Harmony Week with a free community event held in Hobart. The theme this year was ‘Everybody Belongs’ which I think reflects the cultural diversity we see in Housing Choices residents. You can find some pictures on page 4 .
A group of residents received their citizenship in January. Mahlet shares her story with us page 5 . We know cost of living pressures are hitting everyone hard. We’ve shared some tips to keep warm and save money on your energy bills on page 7 .
Kind regards,
Kim Bomford General Manager Housing Choices Tasmania
Acknowledgement of Country
In the spirit of reconciliation Housing Choices Tasmania acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout lutruwita (Tasmania) and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Front cover: Residents Waseem and Jennifer at our Harmony Week event.
2
2
2023 Resident Satisfaction Survey results
A big 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. In Tasmania, our highlights were:
Satisfied with how we take your views
Overall satisfaction 85 %
86 %
into account 86 %
Satisfied with your home
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:
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
overall satisfaction 84 %
satisfied with condition of home 84 %
satisfied with maintenance and repairs 83 %
85 %
76 %
satisfied with how we take your views into account
satisfied with neighbourhood
satisfaction with resident involvement 75 %
satisfied with communications 84 %
While we are happy to see most of our residents are satisfied with our services, we know there is room for improvement. We are currently developing action plans in each state to address issues raised in the survey and look forward to sharing these actions with you in our Winter edition of Home Stories .
3
1
2 3
Out and about Harmony Day
4
5
We marked Harmony Week on Thursday 21 March with an afternoon of community activities. Harmony Week aims to bring Australians from different backgrounds together in an inclusive and respectful environment. This year, the theme was 'Everyone Belongs', so we took the chance to celebrate the cultural diversity that makes our neighbourhoods rich and vibrant. A big thank you to everyone that came along and joined in the fun!
6
7
8
9 10
4 1. Uncle Dougie started the event with a beautiful Welcome to Country and later performed some songs. 2. pakana kanaplila dancers cleansed the space and welcomed the ancestors through dance and song. 3. The Hedgehog Fairy and Sally Sunshine entertained with facepainting and balloons. 4. Berimbau had everyone grooving with their Brazilian music. 5. Irene and Hekiah take in one of the performances. 6. Francisco and Caetano enjoying an icecream and the music. 7. Abigail, Hawi and Ruth decide whether to grab an icecream or coffee. 8. De gives the music the thumbs up! 9. Devika and Krishna were kept busy at the henna stand. 10. Ruth shoes off her facepainting and balloon animal.
Good Neighbour Award Do you know someone who: is friendly or helpful? provides assistance to others and contributes to the community? is respectful and mindful of others? maintains their property well? volunteers in the community? Now is your chance to recognise them! Anyone can nominate a Housing Choices Tasmania resident for this award. All nominees go in the yearly draw for our Neighbour of the Year award. To nominate your Good Neighbour, please contact our Community Development Team via email communitydevelopmenttas@ hcau.org.au or by calling 1300 312 447.
Mahlet finds home Hobart resident Mahlet has made huge strides since arriving in
15 of the questions correctly, including all five questions about Australian values. The questions in the test change each time, so Mahlet studied from a list of over 500 possible questions. After studying on her
Tasmania from Ethiopia in December 2018. After seven months in shared accommodation, Mahlet became a Housing Choices resident in 2019. Having a stable home has meant she’s has been able to focus her attention on all the challenges that come with moving to a new country – learning a new language, getting a job and her driver's license. Her latest challenge has been her biggest yet. Her Australian Citizenship. The process began with the huge task of collating her paperwork and submitting her application. After that, it was time to study. The Australian Citizenship Test is a 20 question multiple choice test, which asks about Australian history, culture and values. To pass, Mahlet needed to answer
phone every spare moment she could,
Mahlet failed the test on her first attempt. It was disappointing, but she rebooked the test and tried again. She passed the test on her fourth attempt. “It was very hard. But I am happy now. I have my home, my driving license, I’m working.” While Mahlet has found a home in Tasmania, she struggles with the feeling of being isolated from her family and husband, who are still overseas. Her citizenship means she is now able to travel with an Australian passport, which brings her one step closer to being reunited.
Save the date
Wednesday 12 June
Dudes Day at East Devonport Neighbourhood House.
5
Spotlight on: Specialist Disability Accommodation Our Tarleton Street East Devonport development was completed last year, with the support of the disability services provider Possability. The 15-unit development has a purpose- built community centre and five Specialist Disability Accommodation dwellings. What is Specialist Disability Accommodation? Specialist Disability Accommodation (or SDA for short) is housing designed and built with the support needs of NDIS participants in mind. This might mean that they’re set up for people with high physical support needs, or people who need a more robust living environment. In some SDA dwellings, there’s space for support workers to stay overnight. Eligibility for SDA dwellings is decided by the NDIS, based on whether the participant needs a specialised home and high levels of living support. SDA dwellings can be suitable for a large range of people including: • participants transitioning from rehabilitation facilities, • participants who already have SDA funding and want to live with less people • participants with a supported independent living plan, or • younger participants looking to move away from residential aged care facilities. Living in a well-designed home that meets the support needs of an individual can be life changing. It can open the door to more independent living and increase community connection and access to support services.
Above: Maureen with her 1980 Paralympic uniform and commemorative medallion.
A medallion for Maureen
East Devonport resident Maureen recently visited Melbourne to receive a medallion to mark her participation in the 1980 Paralympics. Maureen learnt to swim as a child and was introduced to competitive swimming by one of her rehabilitation providers when she was 25 years old. She excelled. Three years later, Maureen was selected to represent Australia at the 1980 Arnhem Paralympics, along with 55 other swimmers. She competed in four events and made two finals. Despite not bringing home a medal, she had a great time. “I just loved being there amongst everyone and all the different nationalities. And competing. It was a big experience,” Maureen said. Her only regret is not starting sooner... “I only wish I had been a little bit younger, then I might have succeeded in winning a medal.” Congratulations Maureen!
6
You’ve got the power!
Heat yourself first. Heating a whole house or unit can become expensive. You can reduce your energy usage and reduce your power bill by focussing on warming your body up instead. A blanket, oodie or dressing gown are all great ways to keep warm on the couch. Heat packs and hot water bottles are also a wonderful way to warm up. Cook once, eat twice. Next time you cook a meal, make up a double batch. This works especially well for winter warmers like soups, casseroles and curries. You can enjoy one meal now, and one later... and reduce your energy usage. One song, one shower. According to energy.gov.au, water heating accounts for 15-30% of energy usage in Australian homes. Next time you’re in the shower, pop on your favourite song and challenge yourself to finish your shower before the song does. You'll reduce your energy usage and might even start your day with a singalong! Check in. If something doesn’t look right on your bill, contact your energy retailer to check it. While you’re on the phone, you can also double check you’re getting the best deal for your situation and make sure any concessions or discounts have been applied. Energy consumption in Tasmania peaks in winter, which means electricity bills do too. Here are some hot tips to help keep you warm on a budget. Win a $50 voucher! Do you have an energy or money saving tip to share? We’d love to hear it. We’ll be sharing them over on our Housing Choices Tasmania Facebook page. We’ll also select a winning tip at random to win a $50 voucher. Send your tips through to the Community Development team on 1300 312 447 or communitydevelopmenttas@hcau.org.au.
Above: Next Steps recipient Melanie with Housing Officer Georga.
Next Steps Incentive
Hobart resident Melanie was recently presented with an iPad, provided to her through our Next Steps Incentive program.
The program supports young residents to take their next steps in education, whether it’s a trade, support school or a more formal educational setting like university. Melanie, who completed short courses in Colour Design and Interior Design last year, will begin a Certificate 4 in Interior Design at TasTAFE this week. The iPad will be used to draw sketches and access her course materials. Melanie will be studying online. “I’m really glad I can do this at home. Going into class would have been hard for me. I’m all set up at home, and I focus much better there, too.” she said. The Next Steps Incentive provides up to $1,000 to help Housing Choices Tasmania residents cover the out-of-pocket costs of education and training.
If you’re aged between 15 and 25 years and enrolled in training or studies at TasTAFE, a support school, college or university, you could be eligible. To find out more, please contact our Community Development team on 1300 312 447 or communitydevelopmenttas@ hcau.org.au .
7
Home Stories Autumn puzzle Win a $50 Bunnings voucher!
Keeping up to date
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.
Join us on Facebook for up-to-date competition and community event information at www.facebook.com/ HChoicesTAS . Or, you can get in touch with our Community Development Team by calling 1300 312 447 or emailing communitydevelopmenttas@ hcau.org.au for more details.
X U N M U T U A N K X
E J
P H
P G L
C E N E V O A
E
E B O T E M N W
J
E R U S
A E R T R T
G W W L O R
I
S
P
S C
E X R C
C S F T E N E K
A G E
E
E
E V
I
T A
E
R O D O O H R U O B H G I
D S S E X L N C V
R T
S
I
X O G U P O
E
I
S N N N E D
L O G N
T R M G
I
D N E L A B
A E
E D
I
I
F
I
O A P
L
T O O F
N S D O G M C N E D T
A P
E H
G U T I M T
N A T
E G N E
L
L A H C
Birthday Club
C M R Z T N E D
I
S
E R
FIND THESE WORDS
Autumn Treasure Gardening
Accommodation Home Neighbourhood
Resident Music Creative
Football Golden Challenge
We have drawn our recent birthday club winners, who have each received a $20 voucher. If you would like to join our Birthday Club, please contact our Community Development team by calling 1300 312 447 or emailing communitydevelopmenttas@ hcau.org.au
To go into the draw, please contact our Community Development team by email at communitydevelopmenttas@hcau.org.au or by calling 1300 312 447 .
Make sure you include your name, home address, and contact number. Entries for the competition close Friday 31 May . Maximum one entry per household. A lucky Kings Meadows resident was the winner of our summer word search draw. Congratulations!
Hobart Level 7, 39 Murray Street Hobart TAS 7000
Devonport 5 Steele Street Devonport TAS 7310
Shorewell Plaza 11A Wiseman Street Shorewell Park TAS 7320
General Enquiries 1300 312 447
Maintenance
hctinfo@hcau.org.au housingchoices.org.au
1300 512 583
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.
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software