News

19^th April 2013     ST VINCENT DE PAUL CHIEF: HOMELESSNESS IS EVERYONE’S PROBLEM
by DR JOHN FALZON - Crikey

The key to ending homelessness lies not in the homeless themselves but in society as a whole, writes St Vincent de Paul Society National Council of Australia CEO Dr John Falzon. more

18^th April 2013     REPORT SHOWS ELDERLY FACE GROWING RISK OF HOMELESSNESS
by Mike Woods - Radio National Breakfast

New claims based on the 2011 census show that in the last five years there has been a 44 per cent increase in older people living in the rental market.

The Housing for the Aged Action Group in Victoria says this means fewer older people own their own home, and that they are at a growing risk of homelessness. more

18^th April 2013     NRAS SHOULD BE PERMANENT
by National Shelter

National Shelter has welcomed the new round of ‘shovel-ready’ National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) projects, but calls for long term certainty by providing a pipeline of projects based on NRAS. more

18^th April 2013     CALL FOR RENTAL AFFORDABILITY TO BE ELECTION ISSUE
by ABC News

The Tenants Union of Victoria says the affordability of renting a house on the private market is in long-term decline. The latest report from the Department of Human Services shows that in the final quarter of 2012, just over 59 per cent of properties in country Victoria were classed as affordable. more

18^th April 2013     MPS TO DEFY PUBLIC MEETING BAN
by Henrietta Cook - The Age

Labor MPs and a Yarra councillor will defy a ban on holding meetings at public housing estates, with the Human Rights Law Centre considering a legal challenge to controversial new rules for estates. more

18^th April 2013     FAMILY CHOOSES TENT LIVING OVER PUBLIC HOUSING
by FIONA HENDERSON - The Courier

A BALLARAT family is preparing to live at a forest camp site after being offered public housing they have described as worse than a tip. more

18^th April 2013     FUNDING FOR NEW AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOMES ANNOUNCED
by The Australian Government

Minister for Housing and Homelessness Mark Butler today met with tenants benefiting from more affordable rentals under the National Rental Affordability Scheme to officially open a new dedicated round of funding for ‘shovel-ready’ NRAS projects. more

18^th April 2013     FRESH FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE RENTAL SCHEME
by Stephanie Peatling - The Sydney Morning Herald

Funding for up to 1000 new affordable rental properties will be announced by the Minister for Housing, Mark Butler, on Thursday. more

17^th April 2013     OLDER AUSTRALIANS, ESPECIALLY HOME OWNERS, WANT TO AGE AT HOME
by AIHW

Over 90% of older Australians intend to stay in their current accommodation rather than move to aged care or move at all, and this intent is strongest among older people who own their own homes, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). more

17^th April 2013     A SCHOOL WHERE HOMELESS KIDS QUEUE TO GET IN
by Carolyn Webb - The Age

Melbourne Citymission is running its first school in 159 years. It has a posh name, the Melbourne Academy, and a select student body. The school, in a 19th century King Street building, recently gained secondary school status. But its classes are far removed from a conventional school.

16^th April 2013     DVRCV TRAINING: FAMILY VIOLENCE HURTS KIDS TOO: PROVIDING SUPPORT TO CHILDREN AFFECTED BY DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE
by Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria

A three-day training program providing practitioners with the knowledge and skills to support and provide information to children and young people who have experienced family violence and to strengthen the mother/child bond. more

15^th April 2013     DOWN AND OUT ACROSS THE DITCH
by Steve Kilgallon

A Sydney park is home for a number of New Zealanders who have fallen through society's cracks. more

15^th April 2013     CUTS BODE ILL FOR TENANTS
by Vince Chadwick - The Age

Public housing tenants are more likely to become homeless as a second instalment of cuts to support services takes effect, community workers warn. more

15^th April 2013     CALENDAR OF SUPPORT GROUPS IN THE NMR ADDRESSING FAMILY VIOLENCE, TRAUMA & DIFFICULT RELATIONSHIPS
by Women's Health in the North

This calendar has been collated with information provided by community group work service providers. The aim of the calendar is to assist service providers to support women children and men to access appropriate family violence support groups.  more

15^th April 2013     MORE SUPPORT NEEDED FOR DISABLED, HOMELESS
by Nine News

Indigenous and homeless people need extra support to access the new disability care system, an advocacy group says. more

15^th April 2013     POLLIES WANT A CHAT WITH PUBLIC HOUSING TENANTS: BANDT
by Bridget Fitzgerald - Melbourne Times Weekly

PUBLIC housing tenants are being treated like second-class citizens by not being allowed the same access to political communication as other constituents, according to federal Greens MP Adam Bandt. more

15^th April 2013     SLEEP AT THE G: ROBBO BACK HOME ON MCG
by Melbourne Times Weekly

1500 people have pledged to put their bodies on the line to raise awareness about youth homelessness by taking part in Sleep at the 'G on April 18. more

15^th April 2013     HOMELESS PERSONS' LEGAL CLINIC - WHAT THEY DO
by PILCH Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic

Free legal services for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness

For those of you who don’t already know, the PILCH Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic (HPLC) is a free legal service for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The HPLC has eight outreach clinics at services in central Melbourne, St Kilda, Footscray and Geelong. more

15^th April 2013     WHITELION'S YOUNG MEN'S SUPPORT SERVICE - SEEKING REFERRALS
by Whitelion

Whitelion would like to welcome referrals to the newly established Young Men’s Support Service (YMSS). This is a program for young men aged between 14-20 and living in North-Western regions of Melbourne City. more

15^th April 2013     HELP AUSTRALIANS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING BUILD THEIR ELECTION YEAR STRATEGY
by Australians for Affordable Housing

This year is critically important to the Australians for Affordable Housing campaign; election years provide the opportunity to get commitments from political parties on issues that they otherwise try to avoid.

Australians for Affordable Housing wants to make sure that they are focussing on the right issues, and communicating them in the best way. Your opinion, as a supporter of the campaign, is valuable to Australians for Affordable Housing. more