Beddown

It is significant on #WorldHomelessnessDay that the Tenancy Skills Institute reflects on our attendance at the Housing First Nations 2024 National Conference in Meanjin/Brisbane this week. A significant policy forum, exploring key issues, developments, opportunities and challenges for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing in Queensland, and across Australia. The Tenancy Skills Institute remains focused on our Indigenous Engagement Strategy to meaningful work towards closing the housing gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples via the provision of tenancy education to improve access to housing and housing outcomes for First Nations Peoples. We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are over-represented in the experience of homelessness, with over a third of clients supported by inCommunity Connect 's specialist housing and homelessness service identifying as First Nations Peoples. In response, over a third of Tenancy Skills Institute students, upskilling with practical 'how-to' tenancy skills, identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples. And we have a significant, strategic roadmap to contribute to this conversation that goes well beyond 31st December 2024 (when our current funding expires). We sincerely hope the Queensland Government (and Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works) recognises our critical contribution being made in working towards closing the housing gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, now and into the future, and re-funds the Tenancy Skills Institute.  

Have some time this long weekend? Why not make a cuppa and take a listen to our CEO Paul Tommasini recent chat with Mel at BLOW - Infectious Behaviour, sharing the evolution of Beddown within our broader organisation inCommunity Inc. Paul explains inCommunity Inc's many and varied strategies to address the issue of homelessness: 🌸 Proactive tenancy education + cross-sector early intervention (Tenancy Skills Institute) 🌸 Supporting people sleeping rough + Good Night Initiative and our valued Community Partners (Protea Place Inc., HBNC, Womens Centre FNQ www.wirc.org.au) 🌸 Health partnership with OneBridge nurses 🌸 Case Management support across all experiences of homelessness (inCommunity Connect ) and much, much more! Join us in applauding Mel's passion and commitment to addressing the issue of homelessness. While you're there, why not take a listen to Mel's other thoughtful discussions with others working in this space. https://lnkd.in/gRGkhvcf

Are you a proud Tenancy Skills Institute supporter? Or, in other words ... Do you support delivering practical 'how-to' tenancy education and cross-sector early intervention strategies to sustain tenancies and keep Queenslanders out of the overflowing #homelessness system? In our final three months of funding and with no guarantee of future funding, we call on our vast network of supporters from the Community Sector, Real Estate Industry, students and graduates to share why you think the Tenancy Skills Institute needs to be re-funded into 2025 and beyond! Add your comments below, and re-share our posts to show your support. We would also love to send you one of our supporter stickers so you can proudly display this at your community centre, school, office, organisation and so on! Let's ensure this essential work can continue during this critical time when the issue of homelessness is so starkly impacting the community of Queensland. #betterrentaloutcomestogether

“It was ultimately the jumping off point for any work that we could do for this family.” A Mum and her 9-year-old son recently found themselves sleeping in their car after escaping significant domestic and family violence.    Centacare Family and Relationship Support Services Fraser Coast Ashleigh Kinsela shares their story with their permission in this video.     Ashleigh explains how, via accessing the immediate, safe, and secure accommodation via Beddown's The Good Night Initiative, this family has been able to heal, build trust with agencies and services, engage in wrap-around support, and move their lives forward with courage and grace.    We thank this family for sharing their story, which highlights the complexities faced when experiencing domestic and family violence as well as homelessness.    Centacare linked with the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre (HBNC) to access The Good Night Initiative for this family. www.centacare.com This video was filmed on the Traditional Lands of the Butchulla People. 

Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow! inCommunity Inc held its inaugural Staff Conference on Monday. Bringing our teams together for a day to focus on where our organisation originates; what we're achieving today as a specialist housing and homelessness service via our brands of the Tenancy Skills Institute, inCommunity Connect and Beddown; and highlighting our focus for a bright tomorrow! A special opportunity for our organisation to come together to deepen our collective knowledge, reflect and discuss our learnings, strengthen our team’s collaboration and wellbeing, and build our future together. Watch our video re-cap and read the day's highlights here: https://lnkd.in/evmZMD_X Thanks to Adj. Associate Professor Sonia Martin 🏳️🌈 RN, GACN Founder and Director of OneBridge, Brett de Hoedt, Laura Valenti of McGrath North Lakes and Ipswich locals The Wellbeing Studio (owner Sam and practitioner Ellen) and all of our team. To say it was an inspiring day is an understatement. And our team left connected and energised for our future ahead, together. Our conference occurred and this video was filmed on the Traditional Lands of the Jagera, Yuggera and Ugarapul Peoples.

As the month of August draws to a close, inCommunity Inc, and our brands of Beddown, inCommunity Connect and Tenancy Skills Institute focuses on Multicultural Queensland Month. Celebrating people of all cultures and Queensland as a multicultural community where we all can contribute and thrive. We recognise the diverse cultural connections within our team as well as the people we walk alongside. Today we highlight our education brand, the Tenancy Skills Institute’s ongoing commitment to delivering our tenancy education courses to multicultural groups via organisations such as Townsville Multicultural Support Group; Centacare Multicultural Services in Cairns (Centacare Brisbane) and Multicultural Australia. Ensuring all residents of Queensland understand their rights and responsibilities under a lease agreement is essential, especially those who speak English as an additional language and/or who may have recently arrived in our state. As our team member Gavin M Ah Kee shares, “I really enjoy the work we do with our multicultural groups and I always learn more than the students. The language and cultural barriers to learning can be significant and I ensure I acknowledge and respect the group’s understanding of housing from where they have come from before I can deliver education and information on what it is like here. Using interpreters is a skill I have grown into but one that I truly value when I appreciate and understand the difficulty experienced by students for something as simple as asking to get a tap fixed, for example.” The Tenancy Skills Institute team continues to deliver to valued multicultural groups throughout Queensland, including next week’s courses in Toowoomba, where students whose first languages include Kurdish Kurmanji/Arabic and Swahili/Kinyarwanda will get rent-ready via our full tenancy education course. #multiculturalmonthqueensland

“I think that if we weren’t able to offer that, I just don’t know that the referral into rehab would have occurred that seamlessly.” When seeking to enter rehabilitation for drug and alcohol recovery, having a safe space to prepare with the support of wrap-around services is essential. So when a client seeking rehab who was sleeping rough, presented to the Womens Centre FNQ, the team immediately accessed Beddown's The Good Night Initiative to ensure an appropriate environment was available to her to set her on the pathway to sobriety. Hear from Program Manager Brittany, who shares how The Good Night Initiative played a critical foundation role in creating this positive outcome. This video was filmed on the Traditional Lands of the Gimuy-Walubara Yidinji and Yirrganydji Peoples. www.wirc.org.au

“It gives people hope when they’re finding there is no hope.”   When HBNC Community Navigator Tara Duerkop received a call from a Mum who had experienced an unthinkable house fire at her rental, leaving herself and her children homeless, Tara quickly sought to provide them with safe and secure accommodation.    In this video, Tara explains how by providing immediate accommodation relief for this family via Beddown's The Good Night Initiative, the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre was able to provide an important stop-gap whilst this family sought to start a new chapter after this life-changing event.   This video was filmed on the Traditional Lands of the Butchulla People.

“I just don’t even know that her engagement would have occurred if we didn’t have her in the motel accommodation.” Collaboration can create extraordinary outcomes for people sleeping rough. Today we continue sharing outcomes from Beddown's The Good Night Initiative. In this case study shared by the Womens Centre FNQ, the safe and secure accommodation provided via this initiative was pivotal in enabling wrap-around support services to engage with this family fleeing high-risk domestic and family violence. Ultimately achieving safe, long-term accommodation for this Mum and her children. Take a moment to hear from Programs Manager Brittany Faulkner of Womens Centre FNQ who shares this incredible outcome. This video was filmed on the Traditional Lands of the Gimuy-Walubara Yidinji and Yirrganydji Peoples.  www.wirc.org.au

"Today is the best day of my life, because I have a door that locks, and this place has a bathroom. I now don’t eat lunch alone because I am able to have a shower, and kids aren’t mean to me." A 9 year old boy describes the impact of benefiting from Beddown's The Good Night Initiative with his Mum. On Saturday night, Beddown had the opportunity to thank the AMA Queensland Foundation in person at their annual Charity Gala for their incredible donation last year, enabling the Foundation to become our major donor for The Good Night Initiative. Joining special guests, including Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeanette Young AC PSM; Professor Nimmo RFD; Vanessa Fowler OAM Co-Chair, Queensland Government Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Council; Chair of AMA Queensland Foundation Dr Dilip Dhupelia and his wife Mrs Ann Dhupelia (pictured in video); guests wore purple to represent the Foundation’s fundraising focus for this year—supporting organisations working on the frontline of domestic and family violence. Our CEO Paul Tommasini and Deputy CEO Nerissa Wade were honoured to be able to share the huge impact the Foundation’s donation has made to people sleeping rough via Beddown’s The Good Night Initiative. Since February this year, Beddown has provided bed nights to over 200 people throughout Queensland, 57 of whom were children. With 94% of people assisted identifying as women and two-thirds seeking support for homelessness due to domestic and family violence, there is no doubt that the Foundation will continue to make extraordinary impacts in the coming year with their 2024 focus. In coming days we will continue to share with you case studies from The Good Night Initiative, important stories to be told by our Community Partners on the impact and the outcomes that The Good Night Initiative has achieved. Please join us in giving a huge thank you to the AMA Queensland Foundation. HBNC (Hervey Bay Neighbhourhood Centre) | Protea Place Inc. | Womens Centre FNQ (www.wirc.org.au)