March 2015
For more info or to submit articles to any of NT Shelter’s publications please contact NT Shelter at [email protected] For Homelessness E‐letter – contact Alex Richmond at [email protected] Deadline for submitting an article in our April E‐Mag is 20th April ‐ If you missed our first 2015 E‐Mag‐ its available at http://ntshelter.org.au/epub/0215‐NTSEmag/ NEWS & MEDIA Homelessness Funding Extension Mar 23, 2015 Scott Morrison gives homelessness groups two‐year, $230 million funding extension NPAH Funding Confirmed with a Two Year Funding Commitment to Support the Most Vulnerable in our Community NT Shelter welcomes the $230 million commitment by the Minister for Social Services, the Hon. Scott Morrison MP, to extend the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH) to 2017.‐ See NT Shelter’s media release.
NT Shelter’s Executive Officer Toni Vine Bromley said “While the Federal Government has now put the homelessness funding on the table, it would now be very pleasing to see the NT Government commit to extending funding for homelessness services across all areas of the Territory for the same time period. ” NT Shelter also joined with 60 other homelessness agencies and other welfare bodies, including Homelessness Australia in an open letter on Monday 9 February to call for alignment of homelessness funding with the four year budget cycle. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015‐02‐09/social‐services‐groups‐
ask‐government‐for‐funding‐certainty/6078622 Funded Housing Peaks Critical to Consultation Process National Shelter has continued its campaign to stop Federal Government cuts to the voice of vulnerable people in the housing system by appearing before the Senate Economics Committee to stress the importance of funded peaks in strong consultation processes. National Shelter, CHFA and Homelessness Australia all face withdrawal of funding as at 30th June this year. Without funded peaks, people who are vulnerable in, or excluded from the housing system will be without a voice in the housing and homelessness policy decisions which have a fundamental impact on their lives. A national day of action is being planned for the 24th March 2015, and hopefully many others in the sector will join them in stressing the importance of peak voices for marginalised people. Click here to read the media release. The End of the Community Housing Federation of Australia (CHFA) ‐ and the emergence of the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) With the announcement in December of the de‐funding of the 3 national housing and homelessness peak bodies, CHFA will cease operations from 30th June 2015. At the CHFA National Members Meeting in Brisbane on 19 March the resolution to form a new company and adopt a new constitution was passed. The name of the new membership based organisation will be the 'Community Housing Industry Association' (CHIA). Please refer to the detailed proposal for the new body whose aims are;  Be one voice for the industry  Provide effective national representation  Deliver more and better services to members  Better connect our sector  Create a more resilient and independent organisation. NT Shelter will continue to disseminate information about the new organisation and the benefits of membership in our ongoing communications with the community housing sector. Community Experts Release National Plan To Tackle Housing Affordability Crisis ; 24/03/2015 Peak community and housing groups have called on the Commonwealth Government to work with them in developing a National Housing Strategy to address the worsening housing affordability crisis in Australia. The groups, including the ACOSS, National Shelter, Homelessness Australia, the Community Housing Federation of Australia and the National Association of Tenant Organisations, have released ‘An Affordable Housing Reform Agenda’ which outlines reform priorities to achieve an efficient and affordable housing system that strengthens productivity and participation. Priorities include:  Reforming the tax treatment of housing to remove distortions and improve affordability;  Public and private investment in new affordable housing stock to address the shortfall in affordable housing stock;  Reform of urban planning, land and building regulation to retain, promote and create affordable housing;  Increasing the maximum rate and improving indexation of Commonwealth Rent Assistance to relieve rental stress;  Reforming tenancy protections to provide more security for renters; and  Adequate and consistent funding for homelessness services to ensure we meet our goal of halving homelessness by 2020. Download: Summary ‐ An Affordable Housing Reform Agenda Download full paper: An Affordable Housing Reform Agenda New NT Aboriginal Housing Body to tackle Aboriginal housing crisis in the NT; Mar 16, 2015 A landmark NT Aboriginal Housing Forum in Darwin has resolved to form a new NT Aboriginal Housing Body to tackle the worsening Aboriginal housing crisis in the NT. The forum brought together about 150 delegates in Darwin on the 12‐13th March to voice their concerns with the current housing management system in the NT, and to develop solutions and alternatives. Convened by the Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT, in conjunction with NT Shelter and the Central Australian Affordable Housing Company, the Forum brought together Aboriginal people living in remote communities, town camps and homelands along with national and international housing sector experts, community housing groups from across Australia, regional councils and government representatives. APONT spokesperson and Chair of the Forum, David Ross, said “this was a critical opportunity for Aboriginal people from right across the NT to share our experiences and frustration with the housing system, and develop our own solutions for our communities. It doesn’t matter where our people live the housing issues are the same.” Read More The Cost of Youth Homelessness ;Feb 17, 2015 Homeless study suggests interventions for school‐aged young people who cannot go home A national study into youth homelessness is recommending interventions to help school‐aged young people, who are couch surfing or have run away from home, avoid a life of adult homelessness. The Cost of Youth Homelessness study is a joint project by Swinburne, Western Australia and Charles Sturt universities and will soon reveal the federal cost of youth homelessness. The study's initial snapshot report looked at the cost to homeless youths themselves, both social and psychological. Full ABC article http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015‐02‐17/homeless‐study‐suggests‐interventions‐for‐
young‐people/6122590 View the full report The Cost of Youth Homelessness in Australia. AAG Meetings
ACCOMMODATION ACTION GROUP (AAG) MEETINGS Katherine AAG Next meeting: 10:00am Tuesday 7th April . For more information contact Alex at [email protected] Darwin Region AAG Next meeting: 1pm Wednesday 8th April. For more information contact Alex at [email protected] Barkly Region Accommodation Group Next meeting: 10am, Wednesday 27th May. For more information contact David at [email protected]. Alice Springs AAG Next meeting: 12:30pm, Wednesday 8th April. For more information contact David at [email protected]
TRAINING & EVENTS
We look forward to a bigger better YHMD than ever before, please join us to… Youth Homelessness Matters Day is upon us and you may be hearing about events that are happening, or a rumoured social media campaign, and wondering how it all fits together. YHMD2015 is both of those things;  it is an umbrella social media campaign aimed at engaging the broader community in dialogue about homelessness, and  it’s a series of local events that service providers, young people and the community present to raise awareness about Youth Homelessness Over the next three weeks, there will be an online countdown which you can follow on the National YHMD Facebook Page. We are asking people to join the campaign in any of the following ways, 1. Like : Give us a thumbs up by ‘liking’ the YHMD Facebook page and posts, and by following the #YHMD2015 hashtag on twitter. 2. Share: Share the YHMD Facebook posts and tweets or create your own posts to spread the word about the Youth Homelessness Matters Day campaign! Use the #YHMD2015 hashtag on facebook and twitter to share information about youth homelessness (we particularly want some NT stories) or a local service that you know makes a difference for young people. 3. Act: Attend a local event or tell someone you know about the campaign and encourage others to get involved with the #YHMD2015 campaign on social media. Just by informing someone else that youth homelessness is an experience faced by many of Australia’s youth, you could help someone identify a young person in crisis faster than they would have otherwise. You can even share your ‘act’ using the hashtag #YHMD2015. By opening discussions about youth homelessness you may be able to discuss that it is not just about rough sleeping. Keep an eye on the campaign or contribute to discussions to learn more about what you can do to reduce the number of young people experiencing homelessness and ideas about what the community can do. Events happening across the NT include; Alice Springs: Alice Springs Youth Accommodation Support Service Open House and BBQ, head down to the Youth Refuge for a free BBQ 3 Mulara St, Northside Date: Wednesday 15th April 2015 Time: 11am to 3pm Darwin : Anglicare NT, City of Darwin, CatholicCare, headspace Darwin YWCA of Darwin and a host of other services present Couch Surfing races in April 15. Couch surfing is one of the ways young people experience homelessness. 18 decorated couches created by young people will race in front of Parliament House. Contact Bree Steen for more information 08 8985 0000 Katherine :YMCA hosts Youth Sleepout Date : Wed 8th April 2015 Contact Caitlin @ the YMCA for more details 89722592 For further information please contact Jemma Wood or Bree Steen at Anglicare NT on 08 8985 0000
National Housing Conference 2015 …..Opening Doors Perth, Wed 28 to Fri 30 Oct 2015 First details about the program, including the four experience‐streams, have just been released. Program | Super saver registration | http://www.nhc.edu.au/ NTCOSS CONFERENCE… ‘Tough Times, Hard Decisions, Strong Sector’ 3‐4 June with sector forums on 2nd June, at DoubleTree by Hilton, Alice Springs For more information go to http://www.ntcoss.org.au/welcome‐slide/ Ctrl+ Click to follow link Incidental Counselling for Trauma Survivors 18th March 9am‐12.15 Cost $80 To book or find out more contact Melaleuca’s Training Coordinator 89853311 [email protected] INDIGENOUS CONFERENCE SERVICES CALL FOR PAPERS – SECOND ROUND IS NOW OPEN UNTIL MARCH 31st For further information visit the event website http://www.indigenousconferences.com/ or contact us by email at [email protected] Indigenous Conference Services is proud to host 5 great conferences this year  2015 Indigenous Men’s Conference running simultaneously but separately with the Indigenous Women’s Conference, 28 – 30 September, Darwin.  Indigenous Board of Directors Conference scheduled for the 19 – 21 of October, Gold Coast.  2015 National Indigenous Domestic Violence Conference to be held on 7 – 9 of October, Gold Coast.  2015 National Indigenous Health Conference, 1 – 3 December, 2015, Cairns. Guidelines for Submitting Papers: Papers should not contain offensive language and take into account cultural sensitivities of host Aboriginal country. Papers may treat the themes in a manner that contributes to further discussion of conference aims. Conference papers must be presented in the finish format not less than 60 days prior to the event. Second round of papers closing date will be on March 31, 2015. Papers should be submitted in Microsoft Word format or on the online form. Authors of papers presented at the conference will be formally notified of their acceptance. Registration fee of $650 will apply to all persons submitting papers payable upon acceptance of papers. Papers should explore ways in which the themes show up in the philosophy of the conference. All papers must be presented in a positive and informative light. Youth Mental Health First Aid Course Darwin on May 11-12.
The Youth Mental Health First Aid Program, is an exciting development in mental health and an
Australian Initiative. It's a course designed to help you recognise, understand and help a young
person (14-24) with a mental health problem
RECENT RESEARCH FROM AHURI Research and Policy Bulletin: Issue 190: What are the incidence, motivations and consequences of social housing exits? This Research and Policy Bulletin provides details of the key findings and policy implications from the completed AHURI research project Social housing exits: analysing incidence, motivations and consequences. Final Report: No. 238: The structural drivers of homelessness in Australia 2001–11 Homelessness is highly concentrated in particular regions, especially those with high proportions of men, sole parents and Indigenous persons—suggesting policy‐makers need to target these groups and locations. Contrary to expectations, rates of homelessness were lower in areas with weak labour markets and higher where there was affordable housing. Even so, longer term solutions for homelessness should consider ways formerly homeless people might access affordable housing in stringer labour markets. Research and Policy Bulletin: Issue 188: What can we learn from householder and service provider experiences of forced exits from private rental? This Research and Policy Bulletin provides details of the key findings and policy implications from the completed AHURI research project Bridging the divide: the experiences of low‐income households excluded from the private rental sector in Australia. Research and Policy Bulletin: Issue 187: Labour in the housing construction sector This Research and Policy Bulletin provides details of the key findings and policy implications from the completed AHURI research project Understanding the patterns, characteristics and trends in the housing sector labour force in Australia. Related to the above you may also like to read:
Bridging the divide: the experiences of low‐income households excluded from the private rental sector in Australia Evidence Review 066: 17% increase in homelessness Evidence Review 007: 539 000 homes missing for low‐income renters Australian suburban house building: industry organisation, practices and constraints
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