Client Portal and Client portal feedback

Over the last few years, we have seen our community and Clients use their mobile phones for much more than just answering calls. Our mobile phones offer us many different possibilities, from searching the internet, using maps to guide us, everyday banking and keeping in touch with our broader community through various forms of communication.

With that in mind, Argyle Housing has created a Client Portal which will become our Clients one stop shop for accessing the information they may need to manage their tenancy. This will allow Clients to be more involved with their tenancy and be able to manage their property with greater ease.

The portal can be accessed here.

Client Portal feedback session

In preparation for the launch of the Client Portal, we invited Clients from a range of age groups to participate in a review of the portal and to give their feedback.

It was great to see our Clients interact with the portal and navigate through the various functions and information available.

We received an overwhelming positive response from all Clients regarding the portal with the majority of them wanting to get started immediately.

Wendy Middleton Scholarship

Wendy Middleton, Argyle Housing’s former CEO, was a passionate supporter of the Argyle Housing Tertiary Scholarship program.

Wendy believed that access to education and training is key to creating opportunities for Argyle Housing Clients and promoted the scholarship program to corporate sponsors and Clients continuously since the scholarship began in 2015.

With the support of the Argyle Housing Board of Directors, current CEO Carolyn Doherty and Wendy’s family, we are proud to commemorate Wendy’s commitment to the scholarship by renaming the program, Wendy Middleton Scholarship and keep her vision of empowering Clients to study and find employment for the benefit of their families and communities alive.

The 2021/22 financial year was a quiet one for the scholarship program. Disruptions caused by COVID and the transition to online learning for many courses seems to have been a deterrent for some Clients with fewer applications received than in previous years.

However, Argyle Housing, having a responsibility to our Clients to provide opportunities including education and career pathways was able to continue to offer scholarships that assisted Clients throughout COVID especially as some lost casual work during that time. There are some great stories associated with the scholarship which are highlighted in this Annual Report, and we thank our Clients for sharing their stories with us.

“Being the first person in my family to obtain a bachelor’s degree and attend university is a huge milestone. I also wish to provide motivation for others in the community to complete similar milestones to benefit the indigenous people. The scholarship provided such a huge support by allowing me to take time off when needed to complete the study tasks required.” (Serrina)

The Number of scholarships that Argyle Housing has awarded in the last 12 months was 19. This brings the total number of scholarships awarded since 2015 to 147. The Value of Scholarships awarded 2021/22 Financial Year was $21,385.

Major Scholarship Sponsors

A HUGE thank you to our Scholarship Sponsors, your generosity and initiative towards our Clients is greatly appreciated. Without you, so many opportunities would be lost!

During 2021/22, the Argyle Housing Tertiary Scholarship Program (now called The Wendy Middleton Scholarship Program) received significant corporate sponsorship from an anonymous donor and from Beyond Bank.

Beyond Bank has supported the Scholarship Program for the last two years and is also one of Argyle Housing business partners. The Beyond Bank is a strong supporter of communities. Over the years the Bank has invested a percentage of its nett profits in partnerships and programs, supported its Staff to volunteer and has operated a community reward program across Australia.

This year the Wendy Middleton Scholarship is sponsored by AJ Gallagher Insurers, Paul and Cheryl Harvey and Allianz Insurance. We thank them for their generous support this year as we know these funds will be of great assistance to eligible scholarship recipients, providing resources for them to help them achieve their education and training goals.

Client Forums

Throughout August our Chief Executive Officer Carolyn Doherty and Operations Manager Milan Ostojic made the journey to our regional NSW office locations Wagga Wagga, Young, Griffith, Yass, Goulburn, Queanbeyan and Conder in the ACT to meet with Argyle Housing Clients at the Client Forums.

This is an initiative Argyle Housing has been taking for several years which gives our Clients the opportunity to have conversations and give feedback and receive organisational updates. Being able to have one on one, and group conversations directly with the CEO of Argyle Housing and Executive Team provides a context for their input into decision making, helping us to improve our services and assist our Clients.

We are thankful for the relationships we have with all our Clients and specifically thank the Clients who made the time to meet with us, taking on the responsibility to be involved in their Argyle Housing Community.

Ainslie Lodge

On Tuesday 21st June 2022 the Argyle Housing Board and Executive Team visited Ainslie Village to serve up a BBQ lunch for the Clients and spend time chatting with them over some food.

This was an opportunity for the Board to recognise the great work that Staff have been doing within the village and also to hear the stories from the residents of Argyle Housing.

We were blown away by our amazing Staff, services and residents themselves who look after each other and make Ainslie Village a community.

Also in attendance was Argyle Housing CEO, Carolyn Doherty, Andrew Allan, (former) GM Finance and Alison Sheer, GM Corporate Services who helped out with the cooking.

“Just wanted to pass on my gratitude for the BBQ with the Ainslie Village residents on Tuesday. It was so good to have the directors and Argyle Staff side by side, and great conversations with residents.” Donna Anthes Chair of the Argyle Housing Board

Gabby and Scott, Argyle Housing’s Marketing Team, toured the complex and chatted to Blue Door, (which is run by Vinnies Australia who are onsite at Ainslie Village) about what they do in providing essential food items and donated goods to the residents. The last stop on the tour was Ainslie Lodge which provides temporary accommodation for men experiencing homelessness in Canberra.

The ACT Government have ensured that the Ainslie Lodge facility funding will be maintained through to 2023 showing their commitment and accountability to those in need of temporary accommodation.

Community Links Wellbeing and Argyle Housing

Community Links Wellbeing in Wollondilly is a not-for-profit non-government organisation which supports all members of the community by providing resources to help achieve positive personal and community outcomes.

They recognise that it is not always easy to connect with others in the community without providing opportunities for individuals to get involved. Argyle Housing agrees with their philosophy and supports their mission, as we look to provide wrap around services to our Clients and opportunities to connect with other organisations.

Community Links Wellbeing have partnered with Argyle Housing to support our Staff through education on Holistic Housing Support. This training will be included in the onboarding of all Argyle Housing Staff to assist their preparations in service delivery to our Clients. It is important in improving our responsibility in providing trauma-informed service delivery throughout our organisation for our Clients, Staff and broader community.

We appreciate the support of Community Links Wellbeing as well as the services that they provide to help so many people in our communities. A special thanks to Luke and Martin from Community Links for supporting Argyle Housing in this way.

OzHarvest Campbelltown

Our Client Support Specialist Lead (Campbelltown) Chantell Wyszenko is responsible, along with her Team, to provide individual assistance and connect our Campbelltown Clients with other community services to support them.

The Team reached out to OzHarvest at Campbelltown requesting food assistance that they could distribute to our Clients who are struggling with the rising cost of living. OzHarvest delivered a substantial number of groceries and essential items to Argyle Housing Campbelltown in May. We would like to acknowledge the awesome initiative from the Argyle Housing Team at Campbelltown! Our Clients really appreciated the support and it helped many who were in need.

Eventide BBQ

On Sunday 10 April 2022, Argyle Housing CEO, Carolyn Doherty and council members from the Leeton Shire Council met with Clients from the Eventide housing complex for a BBQ lunch get together.

This was a great opportunity for the Eventide Clients to talk to Leeton Shire Council and Carolyn about what concerns they may have and to share personal stories over some great food under the shade.

These Client engagement events are important for both our Clients and Staff as it ensures that we are accountable for our actions, implies a willingness to be transparent and it allows for an open conversation to be had around any issues that Clients may have.

Christmas in July

On the 11 July, Conder (ACT) Clients were invited to join Argyle Housing Staff members, Linda and Pema for lunch at The Tradies Community Club in Dickson.

It was good to see our Conder Clients out and about within the community and celebrating Christmas in July. This was an opportunity to recognise and reward the Clients of Conder for the great work that they have been doing within their community. Sharing food and having a good laugh are some of the building blocks to ensuring good quality relationships.

Griffith Youth Head Leasing Program

The Department of Communities and Justice has provided funding to Argyle Housing to support head leasing of properties in the private rental market.

This will enable Argyle Housing to assist people aged 16 – 24 in finding and securing safe and affordable housing. The Linking Communities Network provides case management to the youth who are accepted into the program. Participants are provided with two years of support to assist them in learning how to be successful in the private renal market.

To date the program has been really successful with the following goals already met this year:

• Griffith was allocated seven packages under this program
• Griffith has successfully housed seven youth between the ages of 17 and 24
• These households also include four children
• One of the first participants housed in Griffith have now moved out into private rental.

Ruby Mikolaitis – Scholarship story

Ruby is an Argyle Housing Client from Tahmoor, who is a Wendy Middleton Scholarship recipient, who is currently completing her University Degree.

Argyle Housing recognised Ruby’s initiative to study and pursue a career pathway that will benefit herself and others around her. As there are many costs involved in being a student at university from travel to study resources, we accepted her scholarship application so that the scholarship monies can assist her as she studies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ3ablFT0zE

Interview with Ruby Mikolaitis in Tahmoor June 2022

“Hi, I’m Ruby. I’m currently studying a Bachelor of Communications and Media with a Bachelor of Arts. My three majors are journalism, politics and theatre, and I am a resident (Client) of Argyle Housing. I graduated from high school in 2017 and I went straight to uni in 2018.

I think one of the best moments of my life was when I found out that I got accepted at uni. I remember it was 2016. I had just finished my HSC major for drama, and I had an interview scheduled with the Dean of Arts a couple of hours after I had finished. I was so nervous; I had this giant folio of papers because I was going for a degree that was communications and media based.

They were asking for a portfolio. So, I had like a stack of papers on this train, a bunch of pictures of all the volunteer work that I did when I was in high school and then speaking to the Dean and she was asking all these questions I wasn’t prepared for and afterwards she handed me the package and she said, “Yeah, I’ve accepted you. I’m very grateful for you to be at this uni and welcome.” And I just remember, like, fireworks exploding in my heart. I was so grateful; I was so happy and that to this day I think is still one of the best moments I’ve had in my life thus far.

Currently, I’m a social media coordinator for a Wollondilly, not for profit organisation called, The Butterfly Institute, and they provide counselling and advocacy for survivors of sexual trauma. So, I volunteer for that, and I feel so grateful to be part of that organisation. I was also part of the rally in Canberra for gender violence against women. That was a very powerful moment for me.

My advice is to just to start somewhere, if you are overwhelmed and you feel like you have multiple options or want to do something, and you’re worried that it might change in the future. You can always change it later, but if you start somewhere, you’re setting those foundations and those skills for yourself that are easily transferable into different avenues and different career paths later in life.”

How the Argyle Housing Scholarship has benefited Ruby

“I first heard about the Argyle Housing Scholarship through a Social Support officer because I was in my first year of uni. I am very grateful for that as I have been a successful candidate for the scholarship for the duration I have been at uni. I find them extremely helpful particularly during COVID when everything had to be online. Because of the scholarship I didn’t have to take on casual works as I used to, and I could solely focus on my studies.

Textbooks are so expensive, the amount of money I have had to spend on textbooks in the past six years and Argyle Housing helps me with that. You’d be surprised, Argyle helps me so much with train fare. I travel two hours to uni there and back for every class and I am at uni sometimes five days a week. So, I am very grateful even just to be able to afford train fare. It’s even just those little things I find Argyle Housing helps me with. To be able to participate in group work and get my assessments done. Supplies, stationary, printing and paper – I’m grateful to Argyle for those little but essential things I need for uni.”

The Blue Butterfly Institute

Ruby contributes a lot to the community, always looking for ways she can use her skills and knowledge to assist others. Currently she is the social media coordinator for a non-profit organisation in the Wollondilly area called The Blue Butterfly Institute. They provide a platform for connection to create a safe pathway to personal and community empowerment and awareness of sexual trauma.

Ruby helps to produce content that educates the community, inspires and advocates for victims and survivors of sexual trauma as well as their family and carers.

For more information, please connect on their social media and the podcast which Ruby is recently involved in.

www.thebluebutterflyinstitute.org.au

Excerpt taken from a video interview with Ruby May 2022.

Grace Lawrence

Grace has been a Client of Argyle Housing for 14 years. With older woman (particularly over 55) increasingly being at risk of homelessness in Australia, we recognise the importance of creating housing opportunities and providing wrap around services specifically for older Australian Women at Argyle Housing. Grace was in a difficult circumstance and with the help of the people and services around her, and being able to connect with Argyle Housing, she was able to find a safe and secure place to call home and a community that continues to assist her with her needs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOoiOzeRYsc

Interview with Grace Lawrence at Bowral Office May 2022

“I’ve been with Argyle Housing for 14 years. And unfortunately, over the years I lost everything including my home. I just feel really blessed that I have Argyle Housing looking after me and I’m in an Argyle Housing home, I never have to move again, which is lovely. I’m very happy there.

I first went into a cottage at New Berrima that had been completely refurbished, that was about 14 years ago. When I moved in there, I cried because I didn’t think I’d ever have a home again. They looked after me very well, but it was a big block of land and it got too much for me. So, I put in for a transfer into town and they offered me private accommodation in Mittagong which was right near my family and my friends and the railway.

Recently I’ve been moved into permanent accommodation with Argyle Housing. I’ve always found them to be so helpful and caring, and they made the moves very easy. I’m in a little village of six Argyle Housing Clients and it’s near the parks and near my friends, still near my family. I have my own garden again, which I love. I’m just really thankful.

Moving into this unit now where I’ll be permanent. It just overwhelms me,the kindness of people and friends who’ve helped me to get my life back together. I feel now I never have to worry again about moving. If people can get private accommodation under the umbrella of Argyle Housing, they should take it because they still get the support from Argyle Housing.

I also like to volunteer where I can. I like to volunteer for Argyle Housing when they have their tenants’ meetings up and running again. I’ll be here to fold up the letters and the boxes and whatever else needs folding.”

Jacob Lane

Jacob Lane is an Argyle Housing Client from Griffith who started in Social Housing and transferred into a property with his family under the Affordable Housing program. At Argyle Housing we are committed to assisting Clients with secure and sustainable housing options, recognising that supporting their needs helps them to achieve a better future. For Jacob having the right housing has allowed him to now pursue a career that he loves as well as look after his family, who he is most proud of.

Interview with Jacob Lane in Griffith May 2022

“Hi, my name’s Jacob Lane. I work at Southside Leagues Club, and I’m currently taking over their kitchen. So that’s a new experience for me. When we first started with Argyle Housing, we were a family of five recently with a newborn baby, and we were all living in one bedroom and they got us out into a house in Pioneer that had a couple of rooms and (it) just was a godsend when we tried everything through the real estates, nothing could help us.

It was the current housing market; everybody was fighting for it. I’d just lost my father; I was in a bad mental way and just competing with people. I wasn’t up for it. It was just, we’d hand things in, we’d get denied on the basis that I wasn’t full time (and) I couldn’t afford to keep paying the rent and that didn’t matter for a second to Argyle Housing, they helped us anyway.

Anytime we’ve talked to Jenny (Chapman) or Luisa (Smart) they’ve given us that feeling of “we’re in the right hands, we’re being taken care of”. And it’s just taken a lot of stress off a younger family. Having a safe place to call home that I didn’t have to worry about set me on the career path that I’m on now.

I started as a bartender at South Side. I was there for three weeks with my confidence and ability, they sent me to run the North Side venue, which is what I’ve been doing for the last year and a half. Now they want me to do the same for the kitchen because we’ve recently lost our head chef and I’m a baker and pastry chef by trade, so I can sort of step straight in there and take it over.

So, without housing and not having to worry about stuff like that, I never would have got on the career path that I’m going on now, and it’s the first time that I’ve had a chance at a career, not just a job.

They helped us get social housing through the real estate was our first one, and now the one that we’ve just moved into is affordable housing owned by Argyle Housing.

And that’s what Jenny’s helped us set up because she knew even though we were right in the house, that we were in, that it wasn’t big enough for our family, it was a bad area for the family. And have been working for probably the last 12 months for us to try and get somewhere nicer. There were times where I couldn’t even leave my mower out the front in the area that we were living in, without it being knocked off.

So, it’s things like that, that we don’t have to worry about anymore. We moved into our new house and there’s an old lady that lives next door as we were moving in and coming back and forth with the loads. She left a note on our door saying, “Let me know when yous are all moved in, and I’ll make you a pie.” So that’s the sort of area we’ve moved into now, and it’s just beautiful.

What they’ve done for us, I couldn’t put into words to thank them. I really couldn’t. I know where I am now because of Argyle Housing. I’d hate to think of where I would be without them. Just, they saved my life. The community support that they offered me made me feel like there was still somebody out there that cared, which put me back on my feet.

To be me. And I care. I care about everybody. I’d throw the jumper off my back to help a homeless man who was cold, and it got me back to being that. It can only get better from where you are and stick with it because Argyle Housing will help you.”

Mohammad Carsen

Mohammad Carsen is an Argyle Housing Client from Young with an amazing community spirit and positive outlook on life. Mohammad and his son were experiencing homelessness before they got the phone call to move into an Argyle Housing home. He runs the local Helping Hands Facebook page which advertises furniture for free for people in need. When our office in Young updated some furniture in the office our Staff member Corinne contacted Mohammad about taking the old pieces to advertise on the Facebook page for someone else to be able to use. He also helped when we had a short notice vacate at Stoneridge St and took a lot of large furniture items to give to people in need. One of the things he works most towards is taking accountability for his home and the way it looks and feels. He has made some great improvements to his home by planting hedges and shrubs at the front of the property.

Interview with Mohammad Carsen in Young May 2022

“My name is Mohammed Carson. Getting towards 57 years of age. Myself, at this time, I am on a disability support pension, you know, so my workability sort of has come down to a very slow end of things. Prior to all of that, I’ve been in the building game the brickies game you know, gardening services and so on and so forth.

Furniture restoration, restoring antique furniture. But since, you know, becoming, you know, basically riddled with osteo arthritis, of course had to slow down and things like that. And then eventually, you know, my son and I, we moved into public housing into Argyle Housing, you know, very blessed and lucky to get a home through those guys because we were actually homeless for a while through a very difficult situation.

We got a home that was a little bit more than what we were hoping to get. When we saw it like we were actually very surprised and very happy, no garden, no nothing, around, it was very, very bare. But we took that as a positive thing. I thought this was an open canvas for us because, having had an interest in gardening all my life, we had the opportunity to boost this home up.

The house itself is already, you know, fantastic in our eyes. And then to start landscape gardening it was just, you know, this place is meant to be for us and a place that we want to make our home, you know, like forever. You know, it’s as simple as that.

We don’t like moving. We like making a place a home. We like to know our surroundings, our neighbours, you know, be able to help them out at any time we can. Without being a nosy neighbour of course. We like a homely atmosphere and to be a friendly environment. But myself, you know, I can maintain everything, and we can keep that, you know, the house is like this, you know, maintained.

And to keep them tied, to keep them clean and not fall apart around us. And I believe that if a lot of us do that, the look of public housing, I mean look, let’s be honest sometimes you can have a little bit of a stigma with, you know, reputations of what people say.

We have this opportunity to show them different. You know, we can take something, even if it’s a little bit plain and ordinary. But like I say, it’s an open canvas for you to make it your home, to make it your masterpiece and to come home and think, yes, this is my home. And what really made me lean towards Argyle Housing as I do know for a fact, if you are a good Client, you do maintain your place, you are there for life. So even with myself, I want to now make an example with the Argyle Housing home we have. And to make it look like, yes, you can make them a home. We want to be an example for the neighbours to see first.

And then even on social media, you know, we always do before and after photos. You know, it’s a must. You know, we get good comments and a lot of people supporting this, you know, and even when I started to do this, I had people and friends through this that would provide me with more plants, again. Which just saved hundreds, literally hundreds of dollars.”

Common Ground Saturday Breakfast – Special Occasion John’s 70th Birthday

At Common Ground, Gungahlin the Staff at Argyle Housing take it in turn with the Staff at Northside (support service partner) to host a Friday breakfast every week.

The Clients are involved and given the opportunity to help host the breakfast by cooking, setting up, cleaning up and of course participating in attendance. All Clients are welcome to join in, it is an opportunity for Clients to volunteer their time and get involved in the community they are a part of. The breakfast has grown in popularity since it first started, and the Clients now see it as an opportunity to celebrate different occasions.

In June, one of the residents, John turned 70 and the others involved went out of their way to put in effort and made the breakfast something special to celebrate John’s birthday. We thank the Clients at Common Ground for their initiative and volunteering their time to meet with one another, building friendships and connecting with their community.

Serrina Kenny Scholarship

Serrina Kenny is an Argyle Housing Client that has taken advantage of the Wendy Middleton Scholarship Program to assist her with her studies.

She lives with her husband and two boys in Queanbeyan, NSW but originally was from Batemans Bay. Living most of her life in Queensland in a little town called Stanthorpe, she then moved back to Batemans Bay when she was about 16 years old.

This year is a huge milestone for Serrina as she has just completed her Bachelor of Law degree at the University of Canberra. Her study journey with university started with enrolling in a Bachelor of Education degree, but she felt that she needed something with a few more pathways so she chose to enrol in Law. When talking about why she wanted to pursue law she said she wanted to use it to advocate and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are overrepresented in the criminal justice system.

Only 3%-4% of the total population of Australia identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, yet more than 29% of Australia’s prison population are Aboriginal (Source: Aboriginal prison rates – Creative Spirits). Similarly, they are well overrepresented in the family law system. Serrina believes these people would be better legally represented by someone of their same culture. “Having someone represent them who is ATSI gives the Client less anxiety and stress at such an important stage in their life.”

For Serrina having the opportunity of a scholarship means she can take time off when she needs to complete the required tasks associated with her degree. It allows her to improve her knowledge of the law, which she says before commencing her studies she had no prior law related learning.

“The Scholarship helps in more ways than I could put on paper. The stress of living and the need to go to work to make money takes away time from studying. It basically is a ripple effect on how things work and how it helps.”

Like many of our Argyle Housing Clients who receive scholarships, the assistance the funds provide for Serrina are textbooks, transport, and parking. All costs which can sometimes be unexpected or overlooked when considering a study budget.

One of the best moments so far of Serrina’s study experience was “When I enrolled in the first unit to ’try’ it out, it grabbed me so hard I needed to enrol in more units as soon as possible. But I had to wait until l was accepted by the law faculty to enrol in the Bachelor of Law. I remember that day when I was accepted, I was working as a cashier at a local butcher, and I was so excited when I received that email.”

Serrina expresses that she is most proud of getting to this point. “I don’t have a specific point or achievement that I am most proud of other than doing the degree as that is a massive achievement. Being the first person in my family to obtain a bachelor’s degree and attend university is a huge milestone.”

Moving forward, Serrina’s ambition is to be admitted to practice law. “My next goal is to obtain the practical learning training diploma and seek admission to the court to become a lawyer. Hopefully in the criminal law area. I also wish to provide motivation for others in the community to complete similar milestones to benefit the Indigenous people.”

We are so proud of Serrina and think she is a wonderful example to others of determination and taking initiative toward a better future for herself and her family and her community. Her passion to improve the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly those within the criminal justice system, is much admired and we support Serrina as she continues to work hard toward her goals.

Serrina Kenny has officially been enrolled as a legal practitioner (lawyer) on the 21 October this year.

Congratulations Serrina, we are very proud of you.

Good Works Garden

Following the 2021 CEO Sleep Out, Jane Crowley from Dirty Jane’s approached Vinnies and Argyle Housing to explore options for the utilisation of a space within the car park at the Dirty Jane’s site.

A committee was created with representatives from Dirty Janes, Argyle Housing and Vinnies to help realise Jane’s idea of converting an unused stretch of land into a community garden space that could be utilised to grow food for those in need. Out of this committee, Good Works Garden has been created.

The Good Works Garden will grow food and support residents of the Argyle Housing managed Ainslie Village and the Vinnies Blue Door program, along with other community inclusion activities.

We are transforming a barren plot of 300 square metres into a community garden that will offer social inclusion activities and be accessible for people of all ages and abilities. It will also create a green space in an otherwise hot spot in Fyshwick.

The three organisations are partners on the project, each lending their respective expertise and support in a collaborative way.

Argyle Housing is a not-for-profit community housing provider, whose objective is to provide and manage secure, social and affordable housing for people on low to moderate incomes who would otherwise struggle to find accommodation.

Dirty Janes is a dynamic retail operation based in both Bowral and Canberra and is looking to create an asset to the community.

Argyle Housing owns or manages several social housing enterprises in Canberra including Ainslie Village, Conder and Gungahlin Common Ground.

The Good Works Garden has just commenced construction at Dirty Jane’s in Fyshwick with the support of the local business community and a grant from the ACT Government.

It will formally open in late October but will commence its program of community inclusion in the coming months on the principles of inclusion, sustainability, and life-long learning.

Some of the main objectives of the garden will be to:

• We will create an accessible garden which can be enjoyed by people of all abilities and ages.
• We will empower Clients to have more decision-making authority within the garden by allowing them to take opportunities to lead and make decisions so that may become accountable for their decisions.
• We will welcome anyone who wants to volunteer in or enjoy the garden.
• We will create specific inclusion opportunities for residents of housing, run and supported by Argyle Housing and Vinnies.
• We will create specific participation opportunities for members of Vinnies’ youth and young carers programs.
• We will provide opportunities for different social groups to volunteer their time to work in the garden, on a regular or occasional basis.
• We will link the garden with other activities in the Dirty Jane’s Fyshwick community, such as apiary and animal husbandry, to support broader interests and opportunities.

We will be sharing the story of its evolution through social media on @goodworksgarden at www.goodworksgarden.org and in the very near future, people can contact us if they are interested in volunteering or want to support the project in some way.

Anglicare

Argyle Housing has a wonderful partnership with Anglicare to help our Clients by providing information about local services and support organisations assisting our communities.

An initiative the marketing team at Argyle Housing in collaboration with the Client Support Specialist teams have picked up is their Mobile Community Pantry and Fresh Food which is distributed from the local Anglican churches in the areas.

The Mobile Community Pantry is a wonderful service available to anyone. It is low-cost groceries and fresh food that help individuals and families save money and gives them an opportunity to connect with the community. Gabby visited Anglicare Mobile Community Pantry in Mittagong in June 2022 and filmed a reel to share on social media how the food van works and fresh food works. The teams will continue to promote Anglicare Food Pantries and similar services to assist our Clients with living costs.

Together Home Program

Through the Together Home Program, the NSW Government is investing $36m for two years from 2020-2021 to 2021-2022 to expand the Community Housing Leasing Program (CHLP) to support people sleeping rough impacted by COVID-19.

This program has now been extended to include 2022-2023. Argyle Housing has been fortunate to have been funded in South West Sydney and the Murrumbidgee to provide this service.

One of the key differences with this new program is the engagement of a support provider through subcontracting arrangements to provide wraparound case management support to individuals housed through the program. This presents an opportunity to manage both immediate public health risks and create a lasting change to address street homelessness, in line with the Premier’s Priority to reduce street homelessness.

Argyle Housing have partnered with Uniting and Marathon in the delivery of this important program which has seen more than 46 participants secure long term housing and intensive case management support.

Client Awards 2021

The Argyle Housing Annual Meeting 2021 recognises Clients that go above and beyond in their communities.

We congratulate the following Clients on receiving recognition for their efforts.

Bowral

Good Neighbour, Helen Murrell, Margaret Beggs
Community Spirit, Robert Daly
Opportunity, Andre Roux

Campbelltown

Volunteer, Amanda Nicholson
Good Neighbour, Irene Binns
Community Spirit, Eddie Bailey

Queanbeyan

Volunteer, Allen Bruce
Community Spirit, Heather Thompson
Opportunity, Sabrina Carrington

Ainslie Village

Volunteer, John Amituanai – AV

Conder/Common Ground

Volunteer, Michael Hazelman – Conder, Peter Gilligan – Conder
Good Neighbour, Graeme Flaherty – CG, Dane Martinovic – Conder
Community Spirit, Blaga Saklamaeva – Common Ground

Goulburn

Community Spirit, Maxwell Tivey

Griffith

Opportunity, Shaleen Cox

Wagga Wagga

Volunteer, Shirley Gerity
Good Neighbour, Colleen Hutley
Community Spirit, Patricia Boney
Opportunity, Rodney Fellows

Young

Good Neighbour, Terrence Butt

Yass

Volunteer, Joan Elliot
Good Neighbour, Marie Rattenbury
Community Spirit, Leslie Walker
Opportunity, Allison Kelly

Client Feedback

At Argyle Housing, we receive feedback from our Clients on a daily basis. Here are some of the comments.

A Client from Tahmoor has said a huge thank you to the entire Maintenance Team. From the first call to make the report, all the way through to the trades that went and fixed the hot water. He said that he loves that the system is better and he feels valued. He loves having someone that cares on the other end of the phone and that someone from maintenance wanted to listen and ask questions regarding their maintenance concern. He was very happy. ~ Client from Tahmoor

Client phoned to advise that she has received her rent credit and bond and wanted to thank the Staff at Argyle Housing for being so lovely. The client stated that she misses her previous Argyle Housing managed unit and regrets the move into the aged care facility. The Client asked if she could reapply for housing again. Advice given to her on how to reapply if she wanted to. The Client indicated that she was very lonely and did not like where she is living now. Special hello to Lisa and highly praised Cameron for being such a nice young fellow. ~ Client from Wagga Wagga.

Chantell, the Client Services Lead Campbelltown, has always gone above and beyond to make sure me and the kids have everything under our roof. She was able to produce a fridge and bed when I moved in. As I couldn’t afford it. Then once the kitchen sink popped off and I had to turn the water off, she had a plumber here in less than 30mins ~ Client from Campbelltown