Shelter WA Christmas Message

I find the end of a year, the perfect time for reflection.

This has been a difficult year in the sectors we work – we have faced crises in housing, homelessness, and cost-of-living. We have all seen our workloads increase, sometimes to a ludicrous and unsustainable level. Our staff are exhausted and stressed, and the work has been hard, and often emotional. There is no gift wrapping that.

Nevertheless, there have been highlights – shining stars. We have just seen the Rent Relief Scheme announced, as well as the Short-Stay Accommodation reforms. At Shelter WA we worked hard to advocate for these, and we welcome this news and truly believe these will make a tangible difference to Western Australian renters.

“The work has been hard, and often emotional”

Back in May we saw the announcement of the first tranche of Residential Tenancy Act reforms, which we welcomed, and have continued to work hard on further improvements. Our work, alongside Aboriginal Community Housing Organisations (ACHOs) has been hugely rewarding, and we are delighted to see the first ACHO currently going through the registration process. We saw the Building Tenancy Skills program (where we partner People With disabilities WA), win an award for Best Tenant Led Initiative, Australian Housing Institute. We have enjoyed engaging with regional communities, including our members and better understanding, and advocating for regional and remote WA. We presented our inaugural Community Housing Symposium, to outstanding feedback.

“We presented our inaugural Community Housing Symposium”

We have worked closely on committees and steering groups, including Housing First Homelessness Advisory Group, and co-chairing the Community Housing Partnership Steering Group, working with sector and government for solutions. Our Lived Experience engagement focus has meant we have reshaped our Hear of my Experience (HOME) program, and we have advocated for improved engagement. The list goes on … and I know that you will each have a long list of success stories despite the enormous challenge.

We have worked closely with our stakeholders: our members, other peaks, and of course the WA Government, ensuring we work together, and push forward for positive results. One of the most tangible products of this work which summarises our collective wisdom is our Pre Budget-Submission, which shows pragmatic and courageous ways the WA Government can and must act to solve the multiple catastrophic crises upon us.

“Providing them the opportunity to fulfil their potential”

On a personal level, on a visit home to Wales in October, I was lucky to visit several housing providers, including Pobl (People), where I heard about their income eligibility for people living in social housing. Once people are living in their social housing home, there is no cap to their earning capacity, providing them the opportunity to fulfil their potential, and in some cases, move through the housing continuum to private rentals or their own homes. This was inspiring, and reiterated our belief that a suspension of income caps in social housing for a period, would support the unlocking of potential workforce while also supporting people to get ahead.

We thank you all for the work you have done, for the determination and commitment you show in trying to ensure every person in WA has a safe place to call home, where they can thrive. I also thank our Board Directors for their guidance and knowledge, and support and to the Shelter WA team of staff who are phenomenal, dedicated and work so incredibly hard.

We realise not everyone will have the opportunity to take time off over the festivities, but we truly hope you have time to reflect, to celebrate and reward yourself, however that looks for you.

We are taking some time to breathe and recharge, and the office will be closed from 3:00pm, 22 December 2023 and will re-open Tuesday, 2 January 2024.

We are truly privileged to represent you all and we look forward to working alongside you for further positive results in 2024.

Kath Snell | CEO, Shelter WA

| Shelter WA is not a provider of accommodation. If you are seeking emergency accommodation please click here.