Longterm unemployed trained to maintain their own public housing estate
To tackle job creation, the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) is forming partnerships with government, business, welfare and other groups.
Melbourne’s Collingwood and Fitzroy public housing estates needed maintenance workers, so BSL, in partnership with the state government, trained 24 people to ‘look after their own backyard’ AND when a cleaning contract came up at Atherton Gardens they worked with the government to stipulate that local people be employed in at least 35% of jobs on their own estate in the future.
BSL aims to create 100 more jobs on these estates through a number of different initiatives and would like to see a similar clause in government contracts across Victoria.
FOR MORE INFO VISIT: www.bsl.org.au ph: 03 9483 1397 email: info@bsl.org.au
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AROUND 18 MTHS AGO I ATTENDED A MEETING AT THE THARAWAL ABORIGINAL CORPORATION IN SOUTH WESTERN SYDNEY AS A GUEST. I HEARD AT THE MEETING OF THE PROGRAM FOR ABORIGINALS TO BE TRAINED AND EMPLOYED TO WORK ON ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY HOUSING PROJECTS. I THOUGHT THEN WHAT A WONDERFUL IDEA IT IS. NOW I SEE THIS. THIS IS THE BEGINING OF A NEW ERA OF UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE WHO KNOWS THE LOCAL PUBLIC HOUSING AREA BETTER THAN THE TENANTS WHO LIVE THERE. ALSO IT ALLEVIATES SOME OF THE PROBLEMS RELATED TO PUBLIC HOUSING SECTOR IN THAT IT BREAKS THE WELFARE RECIPIENCY CYCLE THAT CAN AND DOES OCCUR SO OFTEN IN PUBLIC HOUSING.
WELL DONE FOR THIS EFFORT!!! IT WOULD BE NICE IF NSW FOLLOWED AND FAST IN THESE FOOTSTEPS. GOVTS CREATED AN ENTIRE WELFARE RECIPIENCY BELT AROUND WESTERN AND SOUTH WESTERN SYDNEY AND NOW CANNOT SEE THEIR WAY CLEAR TO FIX IT. THIS WILL LOWER CRIME RATES, OFFER EMPLOYMENT/EXPERIENCE TO LONG TERM UNEMPLOYED AND WILL SET NEW AND HIGHER STANDARDS FOR TENANTS IN THESE AREAS TO LIVE WITH. IT WILL ALSO BRING ABOUT SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN TERMS OF NOT HAVING EVERY TENANT ON WELFARE BENEFITS.
WELL DONE.