Our Artist in Residence

Resident NewsletterSummer 2019

Housing Choices, under the Better Housing Futures initiative, were proud to provide a community improvement grant to Hellyer College - for a project in Tasmania’s north.

The grant allowed Hellyer College to undertake works in the Wiseman Street

Reserve to provide on-site educational opportunities to students studying construction. Local teacher, Toby Skene worked with two classes. Each group attended the site on di�erent days to perform on-the-job training in concreting around the exercise equipment and toddler play station area. Students also installed two additional seats in the area.

Through a separate grant provided by Housing Choices, the Burnie Community House were able to erect a weather-proof and wind-resistant umbrella in their forecourt area, thereby expanding their space for community programs. Housing Choices is pleased to partner with the community to deliver real, and sustainable improvements.

Mostafa, (middle), born in Iran, arrived in Australia at just 15 years of age as a refugee - with no family or place to call home.

A note from Kim

Hi all, and welcome to 2019.

Every year I am surprised by how quickly Christmas and New Year seems to fade into the dim past! Hopefully, though, you and yours were able to take the opportunity to connect, celebrate and reflect on the positives of 2018.

State Manager, Tasmania

In this edition of our newsletter, we are celebrating the stories and events that you have all contributed so positively to over the last few months. Housing Choices is proud to be a part of the community and looks forward to bringing opportunities forward that enhance the lives of the people we connect with.

So, whether it be our usual round of Good Neighbour entries, our Upcycling Garden Competition, our Grants and Scholarships or our trips and self-improvement programs, we hope you have enjoyed participating as much as we have.

We’ve had so much on over the period that it’s hard to focus on one or two events but I would have to say the commitment to the World Hunger Day, the attendance at the Fix It Friday programs and the success of our Resident Artist, Mostafa Faraji are highlights for me. Stay tuned for information on activities and events over the next coming months and please keep us posted on anything you’d like to see. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the summer, and our thoughts are with those a�ected by the tragic fires occurring as this edition goes to print.

Now 22 and living in a Housing Choices Tasmania property, he is studying nursing at TAFE and finds himself an accomplished artist - combatting his language di�culties by communicating through art.

We congratulate Mostafa on the successful launch of his art exhibition and we were

proud to join some of our Queens Walk residents in supporting him for his memorable event - a huge success with incredible talent!

You can view Mostafa’s incredible pieces at Mister + Co Art Gallery at 142 Harrington Street, Hobart.

World Food Day: Building a bigger table.

You spoke. We listened.The results of the Annual Resident Satisfaction Survey.

Earlier this year, we conducted our annual Resident Satisfaction Survey. The survey was conducted by independent organisation, Quest Consulting.

The feedback, received from 540 residents (38% response rate), is summarised into a report to Housing Choices’ Board and management teams, and used to identify areas of our service that can be changed or improved.

89% 88% 86% 85%Customer service

satisfactionSatisfaction

with propertySatisfaction

with locationMaintenance satisfaction

While we were obviously pleased with many of the areas of the report there are always areas for improvement. We’ve taken your feedback onboard and are implementing an improvement plan focussed on:

• customer service responsivness;• our maintenance service; and• your perceptions of the way we listen.

Repairs to your home. 1300 512 583

Housing Choices has a dedicated property team to deal with all maintenance-related requests. This team is sta�ed by people with residential building knowledge and experience. We work closely with a panel of contractors who help us to maintain our properties.

Every 6 – 12 months, we conduct property inspections to ensure that you are taking care of your home. This helps us maintain the quality and standard of your home and to meet the expectations of current and future residents.

In addition to these regular inspections, if something is damaged or broken in your home, you can call our Repairs and Maintenance Hotline on 1300 512 583 to get it repaired. This phone number can also be used for after-hours emergency repairs. Our after-hours service will only respond to reports involving the failure or breakdown of an essential service that may a�ect your safety or security, for example the breakdown of your gas, electricity or water supply.

What happens after business hours if I need urgent repairs?If you call 1300 512 583 before 9:00am and after 5:00pm Monday – Friday or on a weekend or public holiday, your call will be forwarded to our head contractor, and one of their sta� will answer your call. They will also ask questions to determine if your repair requires an urgent or emergency response. This will normally be an issue that is related to your health and safety or the prevention of serious damage to your home. If it does require such a response, they will send a contactor to make safe, and repair, if possible.

If your call is not answered, please leave a clear message with your name, address and contact details so they can call you back.

Property Condition Surveys: What to expect

To help us plan property upgrades and cyclical maintenance, such as kitchen and bathroom replacements and internal painting, we conduct Property Condition Surveys on a rolling three-year basis to monitor the physical condition of our properties. This information is also used to ensure your home meets our standards.

During a Property Condition Survey, we need to look at the internal and external structural building from an asset management perspective.

The purpose of this survey is to update our records on the condition of each property

component (e.g. hot water systems, condition of painting and carpets etc), which will assist us to create future programmed maintenance plans. It is not a tenancy inspection. This survey will be completed by one of our three Property O�cers and will take up to two hours.

If your property is due for a survey we will be writing to you over the next few months to request that you grant us access to your property on a specific date within a two-hour time frame.

If you are unable to grant us access on the date and time provided above, please contact us on 1300 312 447 to arrange a suitable time.

Like. Share. Follow. �HChoicesAUStay up-to-date with what’s happening in your community.

Devonport O�ce5 Steel StDevonport TAS 7310

Shorewell Park O�ce11A Wiseman StShorewell Park TAS 7320housingchoices.org.au

P 1300 312 447

Hobart O�ceLevel 7, 39 Murray StHobart TAS 7000

A World Food Day Community Lunch event was held at the Burnie Community House back in October.

This event was hosted by Housing Choices and the Burnie Community House to coincide with Anti-Poverty Week.

Guest speakers inlcuded Rick Tipping (NILS) talking about a�ordable finance for essential goods and services, Peri Kauwhata (The Smith Family) talking about super saver loans and Alderman Chris Lynch (Burnie City Council) talking about the value of voting in council elections.

The theme for World Food Day this year was Zero Hunger. St Vincent De Paul Financial Assistance workers were also present on the day.

The Burnie Community House provided an amazing lunch for all those who attended on the day.

From our perspective, it was great to see the level of interest from residents and to be able to share important messages.

88%

83%

It’s time to start getting your home and garden ready for the autumn months!

It is good to have a lawn mowing routine and a general tidy up so you can enjoy sitting outside with a refreshing drink, ensuring the kids can play safely in the yard, or just taking the opportunity to absorb a little Vitamin D as summer passes.

Make sure that your veggie garden is working for you: it’s time to plant lettuce, snow peas, zucchini and tomatoes.

Please regularly clean your heat pump by taking out the filter and remove the dust, your machine will then work more e�ciently.

Shorewell Park Students Build for the Community.

Why no pools?What’s the score?

All modifications (even minor ones) to properties owned or managed by Housing Choices Tasmania require approval by us prior to the works being undertaken.

We realise that in the hot weather the ability to cool down in a home pool is welcomed by residents however pools and external spas will not be approved.

The reason for this is that all pools (regardless of size) are required under Council Bylaws to have secure and separate fencing.

Housing Choices Tasmania are required to report to Council any unauthorised installations of pools or spas under these Laws and this includes wading pools.

If you have installed a pool or spa without a permit, you are acting outside of regulations. Please call your Housing O�cer and local Council.

Please note you can be fined if you are in breach of these laws.

FEB 8 (Runs monthly)

Launceston Night MarketCivic Square, Launceston

Saturdays (Runs weekly)

Harvest Launceston Farmers’ MarketCimitiere Street Carpark, Launceston

Sundays (Runs weekly)

Evandale Weekly MarketFalls Park, Russell Street, Evandale

Saturdays (Runs weekly)

Richmond Farmers’ MarketRichmond Town Hall, Richmond

Sundays (Runs weekly)

Hobart Sunday MarketHoward Road, Glenorchy

Mondays (Runs weekly)

Card Making Craft ClassSophisticated Designs, 21 Wragg Street, SomersetBookings essential

Starts FEB 7 (Runs monthly)

Steam and Heritage Train RidesRedwater Creek Steam RailwayCnr Spring and Main Streets, She�eld

North SouthNorth-West

What’s onin Tassie? For more information about any of these community

events, or to book, visit www.discovertasmania.com.au

During 2018, Housing Choices ran a “Fix it Friday” session in each school term with support from the Burnie Community House.

We covered all sorts of topics including upcycling furniture, how to prepare the home for winter, dealing with mould issues and how to patch a hole in the wall.

Various craft activities were held throughout the year such as how to create a cheap piece of art that looks great around the home and making wheat bags and door snakes. We also joined with Red Cross to make personalised cards for the Red Cross Cards for Humanity project.

Keep an eye out for this years sessions, as we resume this program - Can we fit it? YES WE CAN!

In the October 2018 school holidays, Housing Choices teamed up with the Burnie Community House and the Burnie Child and Family Centre to take families in the community to Guide Falls Farm.

Guide Falls Farm is as education-based farm experience, showcasing the joys to be had on the land. 55 people attended the day with activities including a general tour around the farm, lawn games, a scavenger hunt and a BBQ. A great day was had by all.

Guide Falls Farm School Holiday Bus Trip

Fix-it-Friday

Our Hobart sta� asked our resident children to draw about what family, friends and community means to them.

The Devonport Festival of Learning held in September had over 161 activities for the community, with our own How Bazaar Expo a huge success. More than 400 community members, teacher and students attended the event.

So many questions were answered by a variety of organisations from across the state. The Expo was collaboratively organised by Housing Choices, East Devonport Community House, East Devonport Child and Family Centre and Mission Australia.

How Bazaar! 2019 Devonport Festival of Learning A big thank you to East Devonport Primary

School, the Devonport City Council and the Committee for the Devonport Festival of Learning for their support.

All those who attended were able to stroll through the stalls and keep themselves up to date about a lot of interesting issues including the Ranger Program, taxidermy and fish care to name a few. Importantly though Tas Police and Tas Fire Service were there to provide useful information on keeping the community safe and home fire safety.

We are hoping to hold the How Bazaar Expo again. If you would like to know more about this contact our Community Development O�cers on 1300 312 447.

Housing Choices Tasmania and East Devonport Community House came together to support Anti-Poverty Week and explore what poverty means for communities around the world.

As Lisa from the East Devonport Community House said, “When you have more than you need, build a bigger table, not a higher fence.”

The Big Table Community Meal

If you’re aged 16 to 25 years of age you may qualify for a Your Future Scholarship from Housing Choices Tasmania.

Scholarships are available up to $1,000 to support your studies in 2019. The scholarships are available for out of pocket expenses for year 11, 12, and higher education studies. If your family has already received a scholarship from Housing Choices, you are not eligible to apply.

To learn more about the scholarships, contact your Housing O�cer or the Community Development O�cers on 1300 312 447.

Up to $1000 available now!

Your Future Scholarships

We had a wonderful lunch together with over 60 community members, sharing our thoughts on poverty and showing our care for each other. Community members planted their own vegetable seeds to take away and grow their own vegetables.

Thank you to St Vincent De Paul and Anglicare for their support of the community on the day.

Did you know that there is an interest free loan of up to $1,500 available for people living on low incomes to purchase essential goods and services?

O�ered by local community organisations and financed through Good Shepherd Microfinance, a no-interest loan is paid directly to retailers or service providers for items such as fridges, washing machines, medical procedures and educational expenses. Loans cannot be used for cash, bonds, rent arrears, debt consolidation, holidays or bills.

Housing Choices is a partner agent of the NILS network. Housing o�cers are trained to assist you with your applications. This year, housing o�cers have assisted 15 residents with their application to purchase items such as heat pumps. For more information chat with your housing o�cer, or visit: nilstasmania.org.au.

No-interest Loan Scheme

Spring Garden SuccessWe have had 27 entries for our Spring Garden Competition from all over the state. It’s been so exciting to see all the wonderful beautiful gardens our residents have shared with us!

The garden competition is now closed and we’ll announce the winners in the next edition. Congratulations to everyone involved.

We are delighted by the artists impressions, their beautiful words and images. Thank you to everyone who shared with us.

Nov 192018

International Men’s Day

November 2018 marked International Men’s Day and Housing Choices Tasmania, Burnie Community House and the Tasmanian Health Service hosted an event on Thursday, 22 November to promote men’s health.

Everyone from the community were welcome to attend and the turn-out was excellent. People were able to access five “pit stops” they could take a moment to sit down and have a discussion with service providers covering a range of topics.

Even more excitingly, a delicious BBQ was provided for those who attended on the day.