Community Housing Ltd

From all of us at CHL Group, we thank you for your invaluable support this past year and wish you a wonderful and safe festive season and happy new year. We thank our partners for their invaluable assistance this year as we celebrated our 30 year milestone. Whatever this time of year looks like for you, we hope it brings you happiness. See you in 2025!

The December 2024 issue of CHL Connect, our bi-annual national tenant magazine, is out now, featuring inspiring stories of community spirit and connection. In this edition, we highlight gardening competitions, art exhibitions for Mental Health Month, and share the results of the 2024 Tenant Satisfaction Survey. Click here to read the magazine - https://bit.ly/3VNq8B0 Happy reading!

We’re excited to announce that John De Vries has been elected as Chair of the CHL Board of Directors. Since joining the CHL Board in 2008, John has brought his extensive expertise in project management, finance, executive leadership, and organisational change to CHL and the sector at large. John’s long standing collaboration with Danny Dracic, CHL’s CEO, is founded on shared values of inclusion, diversity, transparency, teamwork, and a joint vision to drive innovation within CHL. Together, they are committed to ensuring CHL continues to deliver life changing housing solutions and thrive as a leader in community housing. John succeeds outgoing Chair David Week. We extend our sincere thanks to David for his dedication and significant contributions to CHL.

Last weekend, the Enfield, SA community came together for an unforgettable screening of the movie IF. Despite the weather necessitating a move indoors to the North East Community House (NECH), the event attracted over 140 attendees, making the night a resounding success. Local musician Troy Harrison kicked off the night with a live performance, and magician Scott Stunz kept everyone entertained with an impressive combination of magic and comedy. Additional highlights included a photobooth provided by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, a community BBQ and seven raffle prizes up for grabs. Special thanks to the SA Government, for funding the event through their Ageing Well grant, the NECH and CHL’s SA Tenant Advisory Group for their contributions to the evening. #CHL #CommunityHousing #MoreThanAHome 

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, marking the start of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. CHL believes everyone deserves to be safe, equal, and respected. But right now, in Australia, that isn’t the reality. More than 1 in 3 women have experienced men’s violence. Not all disrespect leads to violence against women – but all violence against women begins with disrespect. This violence often forces women to flee their homes, leading to homelessness and instability. All of us have the power to change that by respecting women wherever we live, learn, work, and play. By standing together, we can build a future free from gender-based violence. #16Days #EndViolence #CHL #CommunityHousing #MoreThanAHome #RespectIs

Last Tuesday, we had the profound honour of celebrating the remarkable legacy of CHL’s founder, Steve Bevington, who was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at PowerHousing Academy’s Scholarships and National Awards ceremony. Our CEO, Danny Dracic accepted the award on his behalf, in recognition of Steve’s immense contributions to the Australian community housing sector. Steve’s passion, dedication and unconditional support for those in need were unparalleled. He championed the idea of housing as a fundamental right and truly believed in a unified voice across our industry to tackle housing poverty together. His vision and unwavering commitment continue to guide us at CHL. Thank you, PowerHousing Australia, for this recognition. Steve would be so proud, and we are deeply committed to continuing his legacy. Photo 1: Danny Dracic, CHL CEO accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of our late founder, leader and friend, Steve Bevington. Photo 2: Danny Dracic (centre) with Craig Ashford (Head of Client Relationship Management at JLL) (left) and Haleh Homaei - GAICD (Chair of PowerHousing Australia) (right) after accepting the award on behalf of the late Steve Bevington. #CHL #MoreThanAHome #CommunityHousing #powerhousingconference 

Home Open in Caversham Join us for a viewing of this modern Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) rental property in the heart of Caversham. This beautifully designed home offers accessibility, comfort, and modern living all in one. Caversham Quarter includes four homes, each with three bedrooms and three bathrooms built to Improved Liveability (IL) and Fully Accessible (FA) standards. If you’re looking for a new place to call home or know someone who is, register for the open home through the link below. To register: https://lnkd.in/d7ihXV5v Date: Wednesday 4 December Time: 9-11am Location: Please register to receive details of the exact address See you there! #CHL #MoreThanAHome #CommunityHousing #SDA

Who’s ready to spring into spring? We certainly are, and recently hosted some community events with the theme Spring Into Spring with Health and Wellbeing across our Flemington, Brighton and Prahran GLM sites. These events have given residents the chance to connect with local services, including Better Health Network, Uniting Vic.Tas, Emergency Relief Services, Family Life and community grocers to name just a few of the local organisations we’ve partnered with to deliver these events. Food is always at the centre of our community events, and we were lucky to host a gelato van, Crêpes for Change, and of course, BBQs at all three GLM sites. Activities included African drumming, mosaic pot plant making, hip-hop dancing, collaborative art projects and collaging. Events like these create a sense of belonging and community among residents and encourage participation and engagement with the wider community. We hope to see you at the next one we run! #CommunityHousing #MoreThanAHome #CHL #GLM1

Recently, CHL held an outdoor screening event of the movie Wonka, transforming Wilkinson Reserve into a vibrant hub of community engagement, laughter, and entertainment. Five tenants from CHL’s Bradford Court and Porter Crescent communities were members of a working group put together to organise the event, led by CHL SA placement student, Yoyo. In addition to watching Wonka, attendees were also treated to a screening of a Kaurna film created by Aboriginal Community Housing Ltd (ACHL) SA, showcasing the rich cultural narratives of the Kaurna people. This segment was funded by the City of Adelaide, reflecting the city’s commitment to honouring the area’s First Nations history. Other highlights of the evening included a catered BBQ hosted by Drakes Supermarkets, a performing magician, and a photo booth contributed by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. Thanks to generous donations from the Enfield Community Centre, every child received a free show bag, adding to the festive atmosphere. Many thanks to the SA Government for funding the night through their Ageing Well Grant, and to everyone who attended. We hope to see you again at our next event! #CommunityHousing #MoreThanAHome #CHL #ACHL #FirstNations 

Social housing is not what it used to be. Modern social housing offers high-quality, affordable, secure homes in medium-density buildings that cater to the housing needs of smaller households and a mix of tenancy types. We know that the one-size-fits-all approach of older-style, high-density social housing towers don’t deliver the same long-term benefits to the community as these newer models. That’s why we’re so thrilled to be transforming some of the former public housing buildings in Highgate, Perth, into 109 new, build-to-rent, social, affordable and SDA homes in a medium-density, mixed-tenancy environment, in partnership with Tetris Capital and Department of Communities WA . The previous tower’s demolition marks the first stage of Western Australia’s inaugural social and affordable build-to-rent (BTR) project, aimed at alleviating pressure on the private rental market across the state by providing new homes under a mix of tenancy types. A big thank-you to Minister for Housing John Carey MLA, who visited the project site last month to see how it’s coming along. It was wonderful to show you how it’s progressing, and we hope you’re as excited and proud as we are to be delivering this important piece of social infrastructure for WA. And thanks to our own superstar Development Manager Corey Owen for his cameo in this story on 9 News. #CommunityHousingLimited #CommunityHousing #SocialHousing #MoreThanAHome #BuildToRent