Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

Funding for 425 new community housing places

The Victorian Government is to spend $24 million to provide more than 425 new long-term community housing places for people with physical and sensory disabilities, people with psychiatric disabilities, the frail aged and older people, singles, people with Acquired Brain Injury, people with an intellectual disability and young people.

During the next 12-18 months construction or purchase of properties will take place for 34 projects in both city and country Victoria to create the 425 places.

Seven of the 34 projects are joint ventures, with a combined Government input of $7 million.

Housing Minister Ann Henderson, announcing the funding, said: "Each of these projects represents a significant input from each joint venture partner. As such they represent very effective use of taxpayers’ money, with considerable savings being made through contributions of capital or land."

Some of the projects to be funded in the coming 12 to 18 months include:

• The Rural Housing Network. Allocated $820,000 to provide accommodation for a number of target groups, including young Aboriginal people with support needs in the Hume Region of north-eastern Victoria.
• The Supported Housing Development Foundation (SHDF). Allocated $1.9 million to manage a range of projects in the eastern and northern metropolitan regions, to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Projects will target people with physical and psychiatric disabilities, people with ABI, and those experiencing drug-related problems.
• The YWCA. Received $2.8 million to manage a range of projects across all of the Department of Human Services metropolitan regions to meet the needs of women with physical and sensory disabilities.
• The Australian Greek Society has received $1.66 million as part of a joint venture to provide supported accommodation for up to 40 older, frail people in the Western suburbs, and is contributing land and capital worth almost $600,000.
• Community Housing Limited will be involved in a joint venture with the Shire of Cardinia in the Southern Region to provide a total of 28 beds for special needs clients. The allocation for this and other projects totals $1.9 million.
• MECWA Community Care will be involved in another joint venture to provide 20 two-bedroom units on the MECWA-owned site in Elm Road, East Malvern at a cost of $2 million.
• Wintringham will acquire a site in the inner Southern Region, preferably the City of Port Phillip, for the purpose of constructing a 20-bed facility for frail aged and older homeless people at a cost of $1.5 million.
• Ecumenical Housing Inc will be involved in a joint-venture project to provide a total of 21 beds for people with special needs in the inner Eastern Region on land in Kew provided by the Uniting Church Property Trust for construction of 10 one-and-two bedroom units, and a seven-bedroom shared unit at a cost of $1.87 million.

(News Release, Office of the Minister for Housing, August 4, 1999)