Aboriginal Housing Victoria CEO and CHIA Board Member, Darren Smith, addresses the conference
The Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Summit 2022 is the pivotal event in the delivery of better housing outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians. The Summit helps to implement Mana-na woorn-tyeen maar-takoort, which translates to: Every Aboriginal Person has a Home (the Victorian Housing and Homelessness Framework).
The Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Summit outlined several recommendations that built on the work that has occurred since the launch of the Framework and laid out the path forward to ensure that every Aboriginal person has a home. It brought together the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector and the community housing sector and focused on creating a housing and homelessness system that is culturally safe and appropriate for Aboriginal Victorians.
CHIA Vic’s Partnership Development Officer, Jarrod Allen, spoke on a panel discussion in relation to capacity building within the Aboriginal community-controlled sector with Director of Strategy and Performance at Aboriginal Housing Victoria, Lisa Briggs, and Justin Peysack from the Housing Registrar. The panel discussion explored the housing aspirations of the Aboriginal community-controlled sector, and the role mainstream housing agencies can play in helping to facilitate this in partnership with the sector.
Jess Pomeroy, Director of Policy & Advocacy at CHIA Vic also hosted a post summit session that explored the role of partnerships in delivering more housing for Aboriginal Victorians which saw attendees across mainstream housing providers , government, and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations. It provided a fantastic opportunity for networking across the industry and has led to productive follow-up conversations to achieve the goal of creating a more accessible housing system for Aboriginal Victorians.