For almost eight years now I have had the privilege of working within the housing sector to advocate for and implement change that will see new social and affordable housing built. As I leave to join Anglicare as its disaster recovery manager, I remember my first days with Churches Housing.

After two days in the job, while eating caviar and drinking from fancy flutes at no 1 Bligh St with views of the Opera House and the Coathanger (to brainstorm homelessness solutions of all things – with the then Minister for Community Services) – I was already cynical.

Within 18 months I was shaking my head in despair at a sector that largely failed to see (or just ignored) that the problem we were trying to solve was actually getting worse at an increasing rate each year.

My saviour came in dreaming dreams and taking action through collaborating with our members, the Sydney Alliance, and other peaks.

Finding not just colleagues but passionate friends. we learned together how to push back and ask the difficult questions that always needed to be asked … but most of the time were not.

We organised our communities and spoke with ministers, MPs, local councillors, radio show hosts, government departments and whoever would listen.

We organised some pretty massive assemblies both local and city wide.

We decided we were in this for the long haul and realised that this fight will take decades and that we need to continue to reflect, organise and take action in new and different ways into the future.

This fight will continue to be part of me and my heart for the struggling people in our communities who are unfairly being squeezed because of the lack of meaningful housing policy.

Of course one of the key developments we have seen through Churches Housing is the launch of WelcomeMat, an affordable-housing rental realty listing – this will no doubt continue to make a significant difference into the future and fill a massive hole the sector has been asking to be filled for some years. Finally we have one place that people can go to to search for affordable rental housing.

We have also seen the faith-based sector step up and partner with government in supplying land for the building of significant quantities of new social and affordable housing.

While government itself has a history of being very hesitant to use its own land for this purpose, the churches have demonstrated that they are prepared to walk the talk. So thank you for standing with me as co-conspirators, collaborators, colleagues, friends … I am going to miss you and the importance of this work.

While Churches Housing’s board searches for a new chief executive officer, I’m keeping the chair warm as acting CEO.

Recently, I was at a church in regional New South Wales, listening to excited parishioners talking about crisis accommodation to be built on the parish’s land with the help of government funding.

Ownership of the land will stay with the church while the buildings will be used for emergency accommodation before reverting to the church after an agreed-upon number of years.

Yes, it’s been a complicated process, but it’s a win-win for all parties, particularly people needing a place to stay safely.

With this in mind, I’ve been pondering the parable of the talents in Matthew’s 25^th chapter.

Near Jerusalem, Jesus spoke of a man going on a journey, who entrusted his property to his servants. To the first he gave five talents, to the second he gave two, to the third he gave one – to each according to his ability. (A talent was about 16 year’s labour.)

Then the man went away. The first servant, with five talents, traded and doubled the money. The second servant with two talents also doubled his. But, the one-talent servant hid the money in the ground.

Perhaps the regional NSW church is like the first servant – the parishioners are more than doubling the use to which the church’s land is being put. Let’s hope that much more of this use of talents happens.

Church land should be released to build more ‘truly affordable’ homes, according to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in the United Kingdom.

The archbishops’ report, Coming Home, sets out vital actions for the Church, Government and others to build better communities and more truly affordable homes, not just houses. 

Coming Home’s recommendations include:

1. Homes on church land that align with five core housing values: sustainable, safe, stable, sociable and satisfying
2. Church land holdings are reviewed to deliver more truly affordable homes
3. Church Commissioners release strategic land for many more affordable homes
4. Clergy and lay activists are offered training on how to engage on housing matters
5. Local church community work shifts from crisis interventions to prevention

About 8 million people in England are living in overcrowded, unaffordable or unsuitable housing, according to the National Housing Federation.

Coming Home calls for a 20-year strategy to increase the supply of truly affordable homes, backed by a substantial increase in public capital investment and a phased reduction in the price of land. As part of this call for action, Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani has been appointed as Bishop for Housing. See the full report: https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/priorities/coming-home

In Churches Housing’s pre-Budget submission, we invited the NSW Government to consider our proposal for 2021-22, A just housing recovery program.

This program aims to help people to keep their jobs in those parts of the NSW housing construction industry just starting to be ravaged by the impacts of the COVID pandemic.

Critically, it will also provide an ongoing legacy for families and other households who find themselves in desperate housing need.

We believe the solution can be linked to meeting another pressing problem – that of the NSW 50,000 social housing waiting list where most of its households languish for over 10 years waiting to be housed.

First, we are proposing a SAHF Phase 3, building on the past achievements of the previous funding rounds where the successful proponents usually contributed land that was then matched by a government subsidy stream linked to improved client outcomes

Second, Just housing involves urban renewal on parcels of existing social housing land that is rezoned and ripe for redevelopment. Proponents would commit to rehousing public housing tenants; and provide an increased amount of affordable and social housing.

Read the submission below…

https://churcheshousing.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Churches-Housing-pre-Budget-submission.pdf

Churches Housing is working with members to track our contribution to building more social and affordable housing. This work will be updated each quarter.

Very early results are in from six members, with a total of 3,436. That figure breaks into:

Completed	1914
Under construction	784
Planned	733
TOTAL	3,436

For completed dwellings (1,914), funding is overwhelmingly (71%) from the NSW State Government’s Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF).

For dwellings under construction (784), the funding source is again mostly SAHF (83%).

And, for planned dwellings (733), the story is the same: 98% are to be SAHF-funded.

In NSW’s southern highlands, volunteers with Habitat for Humanity have helped re-build the home of Justin, Helena and Gabriel destroyed in the devastating bushfires of 2019-20.

Helena said, ‘My wish is to regenerate this land. Already I can see the diversity in the flora and fauna has changed since the fires. I am very excited for what’s possible here, but I mourn for what was before.

‘Habitat for Humanity offers something that no-one else does – the help of the community has overcome our feelings of being overwhelmed and abandoned.

‘The psychological impact of seeing paths and new plants is enormous. We work from sunrise to sunset, but there’s only so much we can do ourselves. The volunteers cut short what would have taken us months.’

Justin, Helena and Gabriel very narrowly escaped as their house was destroyed, along with 40 others in a village that had 140 homes only.

When the family reached the fire evacuation centre, there was eerie quiet inside, but swirling winds and smoke outside. They then couch surfed from friend to friend before renting a granny flat. Weeks passed as the family’s resilience saw them through the hardest moments.

Habitat for Humanity’s chair, Paul Mulroney, said the volunteer program will run for months due to donations from around Australia.

As a long-time member of Churches Housing, Habitat for Humanity works through volunteers, house building and church partnerships.

‘We run a small home-building program working with families experiencing housing affordability stress. Families partner with us in building their home and receive an interest-free, 20-30 year loan based on 100 per cent of the market value of the completed home.

‘Partner families contribute 500 hours of their own time in the planning and construction phases – this is called sweat-equity and is recognised in the 5 per cent discount on market value that we return to them.

‘Through our model, we use the partner family loan repayments to build more homes for in-need families.’

Habitat for Humanity New South Wales actively seeks partnerships with local churches to help them disadvantaged families in their communities access housing solutions.

Partnering with New South Wales Government, Uniting’s affordable housing program is much more than just bricks and mortar and is designed to promote a sense of safety, security, community and opportunity.

With 340 homes already delivered, Uniting’s affordable housing program continues to grow, having added 60 homes to its affordable housing options. Uniting continues to try and meet the high demand for accommodation services for women over the age of 55, the fastest growing cohort of homelessness in New South Wales.

Providing a range of housing types including dwellings in existing retirement villages, new developments and in stand-alone affordable housing projects, Uniting has recently delivered two new options in Westmead and Hawkesbury.

Set close to shops, transport and medical amenities, the new Westmead campus provides 14 new dwellings to the affordable housing market.

In conjunction with the delivery of Westmead, the development in Hawkesbury was ready in November and fully tenanted before Christmas, adding six more dwellings to Uniting’s affordable housing program.

Hawkesbury is close to picturesque Pughs Lagoon and is minutes from local shops, health services and Richmond train station. It also Includes ‘ageing in place’ touches such as wider entry ways, lift accessibility for easy access, and has been designed to capture natural ventilation in addition to creating an atmosphere of visual and acoustic privacy.

While Uniting is pleased with progress, more work remains this year, the most ambitious for delivery. Sn additional 200 affordable homes are slated for January 2022, to continue Uniting’s philosophy of providing opportunity for seniors through secure housing options to assist them.

Wesley Community Housing tenants have been working with the Royal Botanic Gardens Community Greening Program to build sensory gardens in Wesley’s Specialist Disability Accommodation properties.

In collaboration with Darren from the Royal Botanic Gardens Community Greening Program, Wesley Community Housing tenants built planter boxes and benches under trees for residents to use.

Wesley Community Housing tenants had the opportunity to learn or improve on some basic skills about horticulture, landscaping and construction. One tenant, Sok, said: Ït’s good to get out and about for a good cause.’

Collaboration, community and connection remain fundamental to meaningful projects for all at Wesley Community Housing. During the pandemic that has heightened people’s sense of isolation, creating spaces and events for connection have never been more important.

Tenant Richard, who volunteered his time to work on the project said: ‘So many people have been affected [by COVID] … it makes you think about what we need to do. Supporting each other is the most important note.’
Residents continue to enjoy the use of this new garden and Wesley Community Housing hopes to keep revitalising its outdoor spaces with the great work of Wesley Community Housing tenants.

Almost 30 people have moved into Anglicare Sydney’s Greenridge development in Corrimal, a northern suburb of Wollongong.

Completed late last year, the social and affordable housing apartments will be home to 28 women.

General Manager – Housing, Rob Burnelek, said he “welcomed the partnership with the NSW government which enabled this development to proceed. In addition to the safe, secure affordable accommodation, we also help in creating a new community. It is also important that Anglicare partners with our local churches, to further enrich the community and provide additional connections.’

Corrimal Anglican Church’s minister, Dave Esdale, said: ‘For many years we have had a heart of the people of our area. We long to love and care for them but being a small church there is a limit to what we can do.

‘Partnering with Anglicare enables us to do way more than we otherwise could. We have been able to care for people through provided affordable food and clothing.

‘We have been able to meet some of our neighbours and make new friends. With the new housing down the road from our church (Greenridge), we would like to say that we are now even providing housing for people in our neighbourhood.

‘Sure, Anglicare built and allocated the properties, but it is better for them to do that anyway. We, however, are the friendly community up the road. We are the community that will welcome, love and care.

‘This is our part in the partnership. We are always here. We live here and Corrimal matters to us personally.

‘We feel God had placed us here to love the people He has placed around us. We want to love out of His great love for us.

‘We value greatly our partnership with Anglicare which enables us to care for our neighbours.’

Australia’s only dedicated affordable rental housing platform, WelcomeMat, is now a ‘Page 1 search result’ in a Google search for the term ‘affordable rental housing’.  A major reason is because the websites of the Department of Communities & Justice, industry peak bodies, community housing providers (CHPs) and other supporters now link to WelcomeMat www.welcomemat.com.au

WelcomeMat has also expanded beyond its initial coverage of Greater Sydney to include the Central Coast and Hunter Regions, both being areas with a critical shortage of affordable housing.

Central Coast-based Tier 1 CHP, Pacific Link, supported WelcomeMat since inception through buying listings before WelcomeMat’s go-live.

Ian Lynch, CEO of Pacific Link, said: ‘We are proud supporters of WelcomeMat, which is filling a much-needed gap in the market as a pathway for people to ascertain their eligibility, and then apply for available affordable rental properties.

‘Pacific Link’s own affordable rental properties are managed by our social enterprise real estate agent Key2 Realty (www.key2realty.com.au), in addition to other properties owned by private developers. The partnership with WelcomeMat is attractive to developers of affordable rental housing when Key2 Realty is negotiating new managements.’

The timing of WelcomeMat’s geographic expansion also fits well with the opening of Amelie Housing’s latest SAHF project at Cardiff, west of Newcastle, where 25 new affordable apartments are now listed on WelcomeMat for rent. These are in addition to the social housing component of the Cardiff project.

WelcomeMat’s co-founder and CEO, Mark Khoo, said: ‘If you know anyone who may be looking for affordable rental housing in Greater Sydney, Central Coast and Hunter regions, please refer them to www.welcomemat.com.au

‘Similarly, if your organisation has any affordable rental housing vacancy, consider signing-up as an Affordable Housing Provider on WelcomeMat and listing the property on the portal.

‘Lastly, if your organisation’s website includes a link to WelcomeMat, this may also help housing applicants who visit your website.’