Rhonda's Story
Rhonda suffered health problems in early life that left her feeling powerless and alone.
Given the health battles she has endured, she could be excused for shrinking back and giving up, but has instead done the opposite.
She has been an exceptional Compass tenant for 15 years and in that time has served as an inspiration to other tenants.
She maintains her home beautifully and selflessly gives back to her community through a variety of volunteer work.
With a positive outlook on life and genuine gratitude toward Compass and all they’ve done for her, Rhonda lives a fulfilling life.
Disability Housing
During the 2013-14 financial year Compass provided housing assistance to 3,902 households comprising of 6,559 people, of these people 20% of them indicated they were living with a physical or mental disability.
Compass together with our support partners work to provide our tenants and housing applicants living with a disability equitable access to housing that enable them to pursue lifestyles of their choice; and to participate fully in all aspects of community life.
Compass strives to provide the best service to these tenants, many of whom have complex needs, so that they may feel secure in their tenure and so they have opportunities to engage and contribute to their community.
Compass recently delivered our first two dwellings of twenty under the Supported Accommodation Innovation Fund (SAIF). The SAIF properties were funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services and Compass Housing and are owned and managed by Compass with Ability Options as our support partner in this project. The remaining dwellings will be completed by December 2014. The dwellings are designed to provide independent living for people with severe and/or profound support needs.
SAIF offers a new way of living for these people in an architecturally designed brand new home in a safe and supported environment. Participants in the SAIF units are funded from a variety of sources including the National Disability Insurance Agency.
One of our first tenants under this program Jema-Lee, was excited about the life that would be made possible through her new accommodation.
I’m very happy with making and creating new friends and friendships and I will look forward to having sleepovers with my friends and being independent.
I will be doing the same thing as my brother, sisters and cousins are doing. This is very important to me.
I know I still have family who will visit me and I know that I will be more independent from my family as well.
Amanda
Amanda felt smothered in a one bedroom apartment with three children. With the help of the ERA program, Amanda has a home and a qualification in nursing, working at her local hospital.
Indigenous Housing
Australia’s Indigenous populations in remote areas present the greatest level of housing need. One quarter of Australia’s Indigenous people live in remote areas.
Compass has managed Indigenous housing under various programs for the Aboriginal Housing Office, various Aboriginal Land Councils, RSM Bird Cameron, Housing NSW under stock transfer and the NSW Department of Family & Community Services. The properties have been located in various regional and remote locations including Broken Hill, Wilcannia, Menindee, Balranald, Dareton, Dubbo, East Maitland and Newcastle.
Compass continues to provide tenancy and asset management services for the Aboriginal Housing Office in Broken Hill, Menindee, Wilcannia and East Maitland.
This year Compass commenced management of Indigenous housing in Dubbo provided by the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office through its Employment Related Accommodation (ERA) Program, and funded under the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing. The ERA program helps eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a connection to remote NSW, to take up employment, education or training in regional areas where there are more opportunities, by providing safe, secure and affordable short-term accommodation.
This program is made up of a number of unique individuals who believe in striving for the best and making a difference. We are so proud of our tenants who have participated in this program, and there has been great achievements made. Here are some highlights from the past year.
Codi
Codi couldn't secure regular housing due to his apprentice wage. With the help of Compass, Codi can obtain his trade without the anxiety of homelessness looming over his head.
Tina
Tina was living in temporary accommodation in a one-bedroom flat with her three young children. Tina has now finished studying her qualification and is working in the paediatric ward at her local hospital, while her children are now settled in school.
Homelessness Housing
Homelessness has many faces, women, young people, older people, families and singles. Homelessness can happen to anyone for a number of reasons, but the simple fact is that the problem can’t be solved without an affordable and secure home.
Compass’ vision is that all people have appropriate and affordable shelter and that those people are engaged in sustainable communities. We are passionate about being involved in homelessness initiatives.
This year Compass continues to manage the ‘This Way Home’ Project which provides a unique model, with a framework of collaboration and the objective of increasing the successful outcomes for persons experiencing homelessness who want to gain and sustain a tenancy in the private, social or public housing market.
The ‘This Way Home’ project is a partnership between Compass, The Samaritans Foundation, Mission Australia, the Salvation Army, Nova Women’s Accommodation and Support, Baptist Community Services, Catholic Care Hunter-Manning and Wesley Mission.
Since commencement 3 years ago ‘This Way Home’ has assisted almost 270 individuals suffering from or at risk of homelessness. With the majority of those transitioning from temporary or medium term accommodation into long term public, affordable or private housing.
Photography by April Werz
Courtesy of Hunter Homeless Connect
55
Clients
Housed
16
Families Have
Been Restored
26 Have secured long term accommodation in the private or social housing sector
4 Have gained employment
8 Are volunteering
9 tenancies were terminated by compass
4 Tenancies ended
From October 2012 to the 30th June 2014, Compass housed 55 clients in medium term accommodation. Of these 55 clients housed:
- 26 have secured long term accommodation either in the private or social housing sector,
- 9 ceased due to breaches of tenancy agreements,
- 4 ceased due to incarceration,
- 4 have gained employment, 8 are volunteering.
The project not only provides accommodation to those in need, it also aids in the personal development of those at the site through development programmes. The programmes include male and female domestic violence sessions, parenting classes, cooking on a budget, work development orders and the very successful and useful ‘Rent it Keep it’ sessions.
This Way Home’s focus is to move beyond simply managing homelessness to breaking the cycle of homelessness permanently. This project has demonstrated our understanding, as well as promoted externally, the effectiveness of a collaborative support and tenancy management model in homelessness and in high need short to medium term tenancies. Compass is working towards continuing to further expand our ‘This Way Home’ Model to other service areas.
James’ Story
James was living with his mother and studying for his HSC when she threatened to kick him out on the street.
With the possibility of homelessness looming and a busy study schedule James decided it was time for a helping hand.
The team at Compass were concerned for James’ wellbeing and promptly found him an apartment close to where he was studying. This enabled James to complete his HSC and move in to further study at TAFE.
James now has a job caring for children with special needs and loves that he gets to give back to the community.
He has moved on from his apartment with Compass and is now in a private rental with some friends. James is very thankful to Compass and gratefully expressed that
if it weren’t for them I’d be living on the streets without an education or a job
Matt’s
Direction
Home
CONNECTIONS THROUGH HOMELESSNESS
A COMPASS CASE STUDY
My life has honestly just been one big emotional rollercoaster, one problem after another.
I guess it stems back from my childhood, I lost my father to suicide at 2 years old, I don’t even remember what he looked like, all I have is one picture of him.
My father’s suicide impacted on my mum so much that even still, to this day, she has constant nightmares as well as anxiety, depression and PTSD.
Growing up my childhood was always a constant struggle, whether I’d have to ride 8km’s each night to get myself dinner, or put myself to bed after my mother had passed out from drinking too much, I had to grow up quickly.
Once I started high school and after nearly 2 years of living with my grandparents my mum had stopped drinking, got a job and I moved back with my mum up the North Coast. Everything was looking good until she started drinking every afternoon after work. From there it was a slow downward spiral.
My mother started drinking more and more and I started to eat as a coping mechanism, resulting in me weighing 130kg.
After I finished high school we moved back to Newcastle to better our work opportunities, eventually moving to Cessnock. We were couch hopping between friend’s houses for the next 6 months until we finally got a place we could call our own.
Over the next 4 years I slowly became trapped in an abusive relationship with my mother, being verbally, mentally and physically abused every single day.
I started walking everywhere just so that I wasn’t at home while my mum was drinking. After 2 years of doing this I dropped half my body weight, down to 65kg.
Although losing weight made me happier, the relationship I had with my mother had deteriorated so much that I didn’t want to be alive anymore, driving me to try and take my own life several times.
I just couldn’t see a way out of this situation, I had no money, nowhere to go and no rental references.
It wasn’t until I decided I’d had enough, and was about to pack a bag of clothes and hitch-hike to wherever, when I asked a friend if they knew of anyone who could help. They called a caseworker from Reaching Home who told me about Hunter Homeless Connect Day which just happened to be on the next day.
After arriving at the Homeless Connect Day I couldn’t believe how many different services were available to me. I was introduced to a worker from Mission Australia who immediately began trying to find me a safe home, coordinating with Compass Housing and within 3 weeks after that day I was all moved into my spacious 1 bedroom unit in East Maitland.
I’ve been living in that unit for 9 months now and I can say that without a doubt its been the happiest 9 months of my life and I’ve got Mission Australia, Compass Housing and Hunter Homeless Connect to thank for that.
In late 2013, Elisa Gomez walked in to the My Place Property office hoping for an easier solution to her housing needs.
At 65 years of age, Elisa, a part time nurse at the Mater Hospital, was travelling up to 2 hours a day through hectic traffic to get to and from work. She was also struggling to make the weekly rental payments at her private rental in Booragul.
With grandchildren in Sydney, Elisa also wanted something close to public transport to make the journey easier.
Within a few weeks Compass Housing had found a solution.
Elisa was shown through an apartment complex in Newcastle West right near the train station. It was a secure building with lift access to her door, and with the help of Compass, was made affordable for the grandmother.
Elisa’s face immediately lit up as she inspected the property.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she struggled to find the words to thank the Compass staff.
You have no idea what this means to me … thank you, thank you! I’m just so happy.
Elisa is proof that there are people in our communities who aren’t eligible for social housing, but may not be able to afford the private rental market.
Without affordable housing, hard-working individuals like Elisa may be vulnerable to the risk of homelessness.