Call This a Home? was officially launched on Monday 6 July at The Council to Homeless Persons in Collingwood.
Campaign partners, organisational supporters and individuals attended the launch to show their support for much needed reforms to protect thousands of Victorians currently living in poor quality accommodation. Thank you to everyone who attended.
Call this a home? is a coalition of peak bodies, organisations and individuals aiming to change the way sub-standard rooming houses operate to make them safe, secure and affordable for residents.
Due to Victoria’s affordable housing crisis, more and more people are being forced to live in private rooming houses. Often expensive, unsafe and unregulated, residents endure often harmful conditions while crisis housing workers feel compromised by the few options available to offer their clients.
Speaking at the launch was David Wright-Howie, Acting CEO, Council to Homeless Persons; Netty Horton, General Manager of Community Services, St Vincent de Paul; and Allan Martin, a former rooming house resident.
David Wright-Howie discussed the need for the Victorian Government to work with local councils and other organisations to address both the short-term problem of poorly regulated accommodation and the longer-term problem of lack of affordable, social and public housing.
Netty Horton spoke about private rooming houses from the perspective of homelessness and crisis housing organisations, including the changes she has seen over the past 20 years and how the problem has worsened during that time with a small number of larger family owned operators being replaced by a proliferation of small suburban operators and properties.
Allan Martin shared his experiences of living in rooming houses for more than ten years. His experiences were supported by images of operating rooming houses displayed in a mock real estate agent display billing itself as “D’s Graceful Homes”. (below)
Call This a Home? has received a strong initial response from the media and the general public. Links to media coverage will be added over the next few days here: www.callthisahome.net/in-the-news
Call This a Home? is asking the Victorian Government to introduce comprehensive minimum standards; more effective registration, monitoring and enforcement; and a licensing system for private rooming house operators.
Next steps
Call This a Home? is now rolling out it’s campaign with supporting materials including posters, postcards, an online petition and a social networking strategy.
We are asking campaign supporters to do one or more of the following things. They are quick and easy ways to stand up for private rooming house residents, many of which are among Victoria's most vulnerable community members.
1. Pick up a post card from one of the supporting organisations, add a stamp and post it in this week to add your voice to the urgent calls for reform. If you can help distribute post cards, let us know by emailing callthisahome@gmail.com
2. Email or telephone politicians with a parliamentary responsibility to protect vulnerable residents. These include the Premier; Housing, Local Government and Consumer Affairs ministers as well as their
shadow (opposition) counterparts and the minor parties. Contact details are available at www.callthisahome.net/parliamentary-contacts
3. Sign our online petition, which will be presented to the Victorian Parliament, at www.gopetition.com/petitions/make-victorian-rooming-houses-safe/sign.html
4. Join our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/pages/Call-this-a-home-Campaign-for-safe-rooming-houses-in-Victoria/78792945207
If you are an organisation which wants to join our growing coalition for change, please visit www.callthisahome.net/organisational-sign-on to do so.
Thanks for your help in achieving real change that will improve the lives of thousands of vulnerable Victorians in a very fundamental way.
Call this a home? Campaign for safe rooming houses in Victoria