Subject: INFORM 3
February, 2012
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Weekly digest from the homelessness and allied
sector in Australia and abroad 3 February, 2012 |
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CAMPAIGNS Australians for Affordable Housing Nearly one in ten Australian households are in housing stress. A
startling 460,000 households spend more than half of their income on housing
costs. It’s time to make some noise about housing affordability. Website. Facebook: www.facebook.com/housingstressed
Latest media release: Australia’s housing remains more unaffordable than
UK, USA At the Crossroads Do you think every homeless youth deserves the chance to build an
outstanding life? Website. Stop the loss High loss poker machines are known to be addictive and Australia has
the fastest, highest loss machines in the world, website. Digital Inclusion Initiative Infoxchange Australia's Digital Inclusion Initiative aims to deliver
equal and affordable access to computers and the internet to all Australians.
Universal access to information and communication technology has become a
basic infrastructure requirement in civil and democratic societies. Website. Five in Five Five in Five is a campaign which encourages single people to pledge to
go on five dates in five weeks, raising money for the urban poor in our
community, website. St Vincent de Paul Doorknock in Feb. Street by Street Is a national neighbourhood support program that links people who live
in the same street or nearby, website. EVENTS 2012 Youth-led Constitutional Recognition Forum wants you! We’re looking for 96 young Indigenous Australians, 12 from each state
and territory, to join us at the NCIE in March for the Constitutional
Recognition Forum for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Australians, website. February Safe in Oz Addressing specialist mental health issues
through training workshops and consultancy services, website. Red Roses Musical Seeking sponsors, touring nationally website. CEO Cookoff Sydney, 6 February, website. Policy Research Methods Masterclass 2012 Promoting Professional Research,
Consultation and Communication Skills for Policy Officers to Develop Robust
Evidence-Based Policy. Canberra, 7 - 9 February, website. 6th Australasian Housing Researchers' Conference 2012 Housing in an Era of Risk and Crisis,
Adelaide, 8 - 10 February, website. 2012 National Conference on Ending Family and Youth
Homelessness Los Angeles, 9 - 10 February, website. “A Long Way from Home?” Conference The Rural and Regional Resettlement
Experiences of Visible Migrants and Refugees Conference, Melbourne, 10
February, website. Yfoundations Policy Forum Confirmed speakers include the NSW
Ombudsman's office who will discuss the rights and opportunities of
complaints within SHS and Legal Aid who will provide an update on Work and
Development Orders, Sydney, 14 February, website. 3rd Australasian Ethics Network (AEN) Conference Brisbane, 16 - 17 February, website. Pathways through the maze National Hoarding and Squalor Conference,
Sydney, 21 - 22 February, website. Women and Homelessness in Ireland Dublin, 23 February, website. 2nd World Conference of Women’s Shelters Scholarship applications are now open.
Washington DC, 27 February - 1 March, website. CSW 56 NGOs that are accredited to and in good
standing with the United Nations Economic and Social
Council, may designate representatives to attend the annual
sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women. New York, 27 February
to 9 March, website. March Identifying the Hidden Disaster: The First Australian
Conference on Natural Disasters and Family Violence Melbourne, 9 March, website. ACOSS Media Forum Sydney, 28 March, website. ACOSS National Conference The ACOSS Annual Conference is a premier
national event for policy-makers, researchers and those engaged in social
services or advocacy in Sydney, 29 - 30 March, website. Housing First Partners' Conference 2012 New Orleans, 21 - 23 March, website. April The inaugural Third Sector Expo Free-to-attend two day professional
development conference and exhibition, Melbourne, 16 - 17 April, website. Homelessness Research Conference From the Australian Housing and Urban
Research Institute (AHURI) and RMIT University, Melbourne, 19 - 20 April, website. May The Connecting Up Conference Sydney, 1 - 3 May, website. CLCNSW State Conference 2012 Sydney, 8 - 10 May, website. ACTU Congress Sydney, 15 – 17 May, website. National Rural and Regional Law and Justice
Conference Coffs Harbour, 18 - 20 May, website. Specialist Homelessness Services Conference Leading the Road Home, Perth, 28 - 29 May, website. June Australian Suicide Prevention Conference Cairns, 13 - 15 June, website. July Australasian Conference of Child Trauma Gold Coast, 4 - 6 July, website. Missing People: Issues and Implications Conference Brisbane, 5 - 6 July, website. 12th Australian Institute of Family
Studies Conference Melbourne, 25 – 27 July, website. 3rd National Affordable Housing Exchange Australia Technology Park, Sydney, 26 - 27 July, website. August 8th World Congress on Active Ageing Abstract deadline is 31 Jan. Glasgow,
Scotland, 13 - 17 August, website. September 7th National Homelessness Conference Making It Home: The Real Issues in Homelessness Homelessness Australia’s 7th conference, Melbourne
Convention and Exhibition Centre, 5 - 7 September 2012, website. November The National Housing Conference Brisbane, 30 October – 2 November 2012, website. WEEKS & DAYS 2012 Sector related awareness days and weeks see webpage. Youth week is 13 - 22 April Youth Homelessness Matters Day (YHMD)
day is 18 April Monday 6 August – Sunday 12 August POSITIONS VACANT Housing & Homelessness
Services jobs in Australia Part-time GPs required (ongoing) Mobile GP is a non-government agency providing health services to the
homeless and marginalised. For further information, please call Stephanie
Dunstan on 0457 925 357 or email steph.dunstan@mobilegp.org.au THANKS to... The journalists and media who write and report on the homelessness,
housing and support sector. The National Tenant Support Network (National TSN) is an independent, unincorporated not-for-profit
initiative delivering a range of services to social and affordable rental
housing stakeholders throughout Australia and New Zealand. Email to
subscribe: TSN@thenexus.org.au -Australian Domestic
and Family Violence Clearinghouse -Australian Institute of Family Studies
-Twitter and Facebook just
for existing! |
NATIONAL NEWS Equal Pay Historic day as gender pay gap narrows Women rejoice over equal pay Closing the pay gap for social and community sector
workers Pay equity boost for Australian workers – we need
same in NZ Fair Work orders pay rise for community sector Community workers celebrate equal pay decision Big rises awarded to social and community sector
workers in equal pay ruling Media Releases on ruling Community sector welcomes Equal
Pay case decision, ACOSS, 1 February. Employers stuck in past and must
catch up to values on equal pay for women, ACTU, 2 February. Equal Pay Day arrives at last for
community workers, ASU, 1 February. Historic announcement on Equal Pay Family & Relationship Services
Australia, 2 February. HomeGround welcomes FairWork
decision. Special Pay Equity funding needed
for Queensland, QCOSS. Community sector workers finally
recognised, VCOSS, 1 February. Historic Fair Pay Decision for Low
Paid Workers, Prime Minister, 1 February. Time to go back to the drawing board on mental health
reform Plea for more rent aid as numbers balloon House prices may have hit bottom Older workforce faces age discrimination Struggling to afford an education at a public primary
school $300 million in education tax rebates going unclaimed The Real Tent Embassy Story Laughing at hobos Minister for Housing and Homelessness The Honourable Robert McClelland
MP, media releases. Minister for Families, Community Services and
Indigenous Affairs and the Minister for Disability Reform The Honourable Jenny Macklin MP,
media releases. Minister for Community Services, Minister for
Indigenous Employment and Economic Development and Minister for the Status of
Women The Hon Julie Collins MP, media
releases. Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers Senator the Hon Jan McLucas, media
releases. ACT Win keeps everyday heroes working A 30 per cent pay increase in the next eight
years will allow ACT counsellor Rachel Hart to keep a rewarding job that
makes a real difference to people's lives. The Canberra Times, 2 February. Big rise in equal pay case The ACT Government will spend $27 million
over the next eight years to fund wage rises for Canberra's community sector
workers. The Canberra Times, 1 February. Welfare body questions waiting times Thair Al-Kinani and his wife have been
living in a cramped one-bedroom public housing apartment for four years. The Canberra Times, 30 January. NSW Take back our children, say angry foster parents Helen and Brian MacDonald believe the
children they have raised for the past 6½ years are the ''best two foster
kids in Australia.'' SMH, 2 February. Experts dispute benefits of fringe dwellings Economists and planning experts broadly
agree that Australia has a housing shortage, but there is a lot of
disagreement on how to address it. ABC News, 31 January. Disabled stuff-up to be probed in NSW NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has ordered an inquiry after more than 700
disabled students were left without assisted travel on the first day of
school. The Age, 30 January. Childcare blow-out 'prevents women working' Waiting times for council-run long-day care centres in the Leichhardt
local government area have blown out to more than two years. Inner West Courier, 27 January. Care Connect (Ongoing) Service to help At Risk of Homelessness in Inner West Sydney. Care Connect’s Community
Options Program (Housing Support) provides short-term to medium-term support
services to people who are at risk of being homeless or being marginally
housed. The Program has vacancies now. Please contact Lisa Clarke, Intake
Case Manager on (02) 9830 8903 or lallen@careconnect.org.au.
NT Youth suicide rate getting worse Youth suicide rates in the Northern
Territory are far higher than anywhere else in Australia and seem to be
getting worse, a hearing has been told. NT News, 30 January. Qld Coast suburbs packed to the rafters Gold Coasters will be packed into highly
populated suburbs, with more low-rise apartments, more high rises and fewer
people in each house in 20 years. Gold Coast News, 30 January. Cairns crisis accommodation under strain A leading Cairns welfare organisation says
it's experiencing 'unprecedented' demand for crisis accommodation with more
than 100 referrals since September last year. ABC Far North Queensland, 31
January. SA Holden announces Adelaide job cuts Holden has confirmed that it is cutting
about 100 "casual and flexible" jobs at its Elizabeth plant in
Adelaide. ABC News, 2 February. Tas Home approvals rebound Tasmania’s housing sector has received its
first positive boost in almost two years. The Mercury, 3 February. Vic Ballan caravan park residents vow to fight on against
eviction Ballan caravan park resident Helen Baker has
said she will have to be “bulldozed” out of her home of more than five years
if the Department of Sustainability and Environment wants her to leave. The Courier, 30 January. WA Bullied boy can't go to new school because of high
rent A deaf boy who was bullied at his Mandurah
school will not be able to start at a special-needs school in Mosman Park
today because his mother cannot afford to rent in the area. The West, 1 February. INTERNATIONAL NEWS Europe Homeless hard hit as death toll from severe cold
spell in eastern Europe hits 58 NZ Who is speaking out on today's big issues? NZ Herald, 3 February. UK Sally Ann Forced to Close Centre for Young Moms in
London Mayor opens emergency shelter for rough sleepers in
winter weather An emergency shelter funded by the Mayor of
London, Boris Johnson, has been opened to offer a lifeline to rough sleepers
in the capital during the freezing weather forecast for the days ahead. London Gov, 2 February. USA Get Off Our Butts! When we were kids, my mother -- Eunice
Kennedy Shriver -- asked my siblings and me the same question at the end of
every day: "What did you do to make the world a better place
today?" Huffington Post, 1 February. Homeless Counts Should Be Counting Backwards In the darkness of early morning, the
counting can be monotonous, an exercise that almost puts you to sleep. Huffington Post, 1 February. The Criminalization of CLT'S Homeless Locally, in Charlotte, the Camping Ordinance
became enforceable on January 30th. Examiner, 31 January. Telling It Like It Is If there's one thing I've learned about the
topic of homelessness, it's that everybody has a perception about it. Huffington Post, 31 January. Karen Perry Loses Three Kids, Ex-Husband and Now
Home? First, Karen Perry endured divorce. Then,
the death of all three of her children along with her ex-husband in a plane
crash. Two months later, is this Arizona woman about to lose her home? AOL Real Estate, 31 January. Channeling
Change: Making Collective Impact Work |
RESOURCES International Housing Affordability Survey 8731.0 - Building Approvals,
Australia, December 2011 1350.0 - Australian Economic
Indicators, Feb 2012 2012-13 Budget Priority Statement,
Dec. ACT Government, Office of Regulatory Services Consolidation of Commonwealth
Discrimination law - domestic and family violence The role of ‘assertive outreach’ in addressing
primary homelessness Results of the Clearinghouse
Consolidation Survey Child protection Australia 2010–11 Tell us what you think about
Australia's welfare 2011—complete our two-minute survey! ASRC Position Paper on Homelessness of
Asylum Seekers Living in the Community Destitute and Uncertain: the
reality of seeking asylum in Australia BBC News Magazine Why do some people never get depressed? Centre for Multicultural Youth CMY’s Sector Development and
Policy team has produced a series of five Good Practice Guides Department for Child Protection (WA) Opening Doors to address
homelessness, Western Australian State Plan A guide to Australian Government
payments Department of Human Services (Vic) Information for and about women in
Victoria Education Tax Refund The Education Tax Refund provides up to 50% back on
a range of children's education expenses Quality of Social Services from
the Perspective of Services Working with Homeless People European Journal of Homelessness: Volume 5.2, December 2011 A New Ten Year Plan for Mental
Health PDF printable version of A New Ten Year Plan for Mental Health (PDF
17 KB) The Australian Government is seeking public opinion on the draft Ten Year Roadmap for National Mental Health Reform (PDF
2156 KB) (the Roadmap) via an online survey Home Instead (USA) 10 Warning Signs That Seniors Need
Help Kinetic Information Systems The fourth White Paper for the
community housing sector National Alliance to End Homelessness
(USA) The State of Homelessness in
America 2012 The Emergency Solutions Grant,
Recommendations From The Alliance National Coalition for the Homeless (USA) Hate Crimes against the Homeless National Housing Supply Council The National Housing Supply Council's 3rd State of Supply Report was
released in December 2011
Shelter NSW Mixed communities
The
Centre for Independent Studies The Homeless Hub (Can) Homelessness curriculum for teachers and students The Treasury (AUS) Consultation Paper - A Definition
of Charity United Nations Promotion and protection of human
rights: human rights questions, including
alternative approaches for improving the effective
enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms Progress of the World’s Women,
factsheet Urban Institute (USA) Vulnerability, Risk, and the
Transition to Adulthood University of Calgary (CAN) Housing Subsidies and
Homelessness: a simple idea USICH (USA) Sharing the evidence: Preventing
violence against women Victorian Homelessness Action Plan
2011-2015 AUDIO ‘Yes She Can’ is your ACT Multicultural
Women’s Radio Program broadcasting on Canberra’s
Multicultural Service (CMS) 91.1 FM.
Life Matters - Fair Work ruling, 2 February VIDEO/FILM Jack's story (Elizabeth Street
Common Ground) Harvester of Sorrow “How to Stop Homelessness: An Instructional Video.” WEBSITES etc http://www.web123.com.au/blog/non-profit-resources.aspx @web_123 @Indyinnz http://www.homelesssms.com/
@HomelessSMS @gifteddreamers Taking Action in 2012: 12 Pointers
for Marketing Your Website More Effectively SURVEY The survey is
seeking information about the circumstances of low-income households as they pay
rising electricity and gas bills, the amounts of income needed to pay
energy bills, and the relationship between energy use and housing conditions. GRANTS/SCHOLARSHIPS Australian Scholarships Foundation Queensland Alliance for Mental Health Resilient Places Project:
Micro-grants, round 1. |
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