Last month, Habitat for Humanity Victoria began work on a project with Servants Community Housing to build a bungalow addition to one of their community houses. With assistance from a team of corporate volunteers, the team demolished an existing shed to make room for the new structure, which will provide an upgrade to their tenant capacity for women in need.
As one of Habitat for Humanity Victoria’s projects for International Women’s month, we began work with Servants Community Housing to improve one of their community houses which provides shelter for women at risk. Twelve enthusiastic volunteers from BGIS arrived on the Friday morning to assist our staff on demolishing a shed to make room for a bungalow. The plan was to take it apart as much as possible before a demolition experts would arrive the week after to complete it. Many hands did make light work as the shed quickly came down. By lunchtime, the team had already surpassed the expected progress of the day, marking a good start to the project.
Servants Community Housing is a registered housing provider that assists those at risk of homelessness with long-term tenancies at their community houses. They provide a safe place for them to call home, with support from live-in house managers and established connections to support agencies, community groups and neighbours. More than just a social and community housing provider, their 4 houses exist to create communities where respect, dignity, hope, and opportunity are nurtured amongst residents. (Find out more about them at https://servants.org.au/)
A recent edition of the Big Issue included an article that highlighted the current state of homelessness in Australia from the 2021 census. The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded a staggering figure of 122,494 Australians who were homeless on Census night 2021, of which 30,660 were in Victoria. This includes those who were sleeping rough, living in severely crowded dwellings, or otherwise in temporary or supported accommodation.
Over the coming months, Habitat for Humanity Victoria will be building a bungalow unit where the shed used to be. This addition to the property will allow Servants to increase resident capacity, as well as provide some much-needed privacy and personal space for their housing managers. This would be a welcome step in the continuing work of combating homelessness in Victoria. We are hoping this to be the first of many partnered projects Habitat for Humanity Victoria would undertake with similar-minded organisations.
We thank our Corporate Partner BGIS (https://apac.bgis.com/) for their enthusiastic team of volunteers assisting on the day. We celebrate their commitment to social responsibility through direct action in helping local Victorians in need.
We welcome all corporate and community support for our various housing programs which provide families and individuals in need with a safe and stable place to call home. Reach out to find out more on how you can partner with us on this journey.
Contact us at:
Phil Wright
Business Development Manager
This is wonderful, worthwhile and vital work. Well done to all involved - volunteers are the life blood of this country.