Wentworth Community Housing Tenant Newsletter Issue 45 | September 2020 Message from the Chief Executive Officer Welcome to the Spring edition Housing. Andrew has extensive develop a range of resources of WNews! It’s so nice to see the experience in the community to help tenants in times of flowers blooming and to enjoy housing sector in both Australia extreme heat. warm, mild days in the sun after and the UK, and like myself, is I know many of our tenants the cold winter. In this edition, deeply committed to providing are doing great things in their I have some exciting news to safe and secure housing to communities. In this edition, we share with you. our tenants. I will continue as are excited to share Allison’s CEO of Wentworth until the Wentworth Community Housing story with you. Allison has been new organisation starts on 31 has formed a close working working hard to help promote March 2021. relationship with another women’s empowerment community housing provider I invite you to read more and promote healthy based in Northern Sydney, about this merger in the female relationships. named Link Housing. This close attached insert where you will Finally, I’m very pleased to partnership has led to our find a diagram showing the announce the launch of our two organisations deciding to benefits of the merger, and brand-new website. Developed merge to become one larger Frequently Asked Questions with input from some of organisation, Link Wentworth (FAQs). Contact details are our tenants and staff it is Housing, so that we can build also provided if you have any designed to be user-friendly more new homes and provide further questions or would like to and easy to navigate. Visit better, expanded services to you know more. www.wentworth.org.au and let over the coming years. In other exciting news, as we us know what you think. I will also take this opportunity head into the warmer months, I Enjoy your reading. to let you know that for personal am pleased to let you know that reasons I have opted not to Wentworth has received a grant continue a full-time executive from the NSW Government to career and did not take part in develop a project, the Western interviews for the new CEO role. Sydney Heat and Social Housing I’m delighted to let you know Project. The project team will that the new organisation will work closely with our tenants Stephen McIntyre be led by Andrew McAnulty, and other organisations, to Chief Executive Officer the current CEO of Link Issue 45 | September 2020 diagnosed with a rare chronic question: “Do you have trouble illness when she was 13. My saying ‘no’?” The results of the daughters are now 16 and 23. survey stunned me. As the saying goes, hard times From this, I was motivated to reveal true friends. When my put together the Sister Act daughter was first diagnosed, Initiative. Each week I post my mum was dying of cancer. on my social media accounts, Our life was in turmoil. I tried asking for people to nominate to persevere with working and a woman who has shown them achieving my career goals, kindness or support. Any sort Meet Allison but my daughter’s condition of positive, selfless act could Disbray became worse, we had sunk be included. Random acts into depression. Because her of kindness done silently, is • Business Owner, Knot On condition is rare, the “specialists” something I value greatly. That • Founder, Sister Act Initiative were extremely unhelpful. It’s is why I ask all who nominate • Tenant, Wentworth an indescribable pain watching someone to send me their Community Housing your child suffer like that and details in my inbox rather than not being able to do anything publicly naming them. The to help them. She’s one tough person who is nominated the cookie. most, in one years’ time (1 Allison Disbray is a multi- September 2021) will receive a Our recovery has taken a talented business owner prize and a plaque/trophy (I’m long time, during which we looking for sponsors for this!), and creative thinker. She is have lived through long to reward them for being a currently putting her energy periods of isolation, loneliness, supportive Sister. Down the and passion into a campaign unemployment, sickness and track we will also be selling to help promote women’s worry. Those friends I thought merchandise on our website to empowerment and promote I had, just slowly but surely promote this. healthy female relationships. disappeared, many of which were long standing friendships. Setting up a new career that I have my own art and craft I wish them well though. I really could support us and fit in with business, Knot On. I design and could have used a Sister at that caring for my daughter also make macramé hangers, wall time in my life. When you go gave me a creative place which art and jewellery which is through experiences like this, helped me to get through a very sold online on Facebook, you learn some hard lessons. tough time. I find both art and nature relaxing, they take your Instagram and our website Over the COVID period, I have mind off bad things. www.knoton.com.au. My taken the opportunity to do youngest daughter designed some free TAFE courses offered our Logo and the Logo for Sister by the NSW government, in Act. I left my previous career social media and marketing. as a bookkeeper to care for Part of the course involved my eldest daughter, who was putting together an online survey. Mine was directed at women, and based on the Rent statements Your most up to date rent statement will be sent to you by separate mail. If you have any questions or want to know your account balance, you can call us on 02 4777 8000 or email [email protected] and we’ll be happy to assist. Wentworth Community News Project to build resilience to heatwaves Dealing with episodes of extreme heat in Western Sydney is a growing concern for people living in the region. Heatwaves can especially This year, we saw the hottest Other partners in the Western affect vulnerable community recorded day in Penrith, at Sydney Heat and Social members, including the 48.9 degrees on January Housing project are Evolve elderly. Wentworth is 4. Urban heat is becoming Housing, Hume Community working with other Western a priority for all levels of Housing, Penrith City Council, Sydney housing providers government to consider, Hawkesbury City Council and and local councils in a new especially at planning stages. Western Sydney University. project which aims to help Wentworth’s concern is with If you’d like more information residents to stay safe and well our tenants’ experiences of or would like to be involved, during heatwaves. increasing urban heat, and please contact Vanessa in finding ways to make sure This project is a collaboration Tomas on Vanessa.tomas@ they are ready for heatwaves. between several wentworth.org.au or organisations and is funded Wentworth is also involved 02 4777 8078. by a $30,000 grant from in two other climate change the NSW Department of resilience projects, in Planning, Industry and partnership with Western Environment. Known as the Sydney University and Western Sydney Heat and Infrastructure NSW. It is Social Housing project, it will our hope that, by working develop a range of resources together with different to reduce household organisations and industries, vulnerability in extreme we will be able to do things heat. Tenants will be directly that work best for the people involved in the design of these most impacted by extreme resources, to make sure that heat living in Western Sydney. what is produced will be most helpful to them and we are starting workshops soon. Wentworth Community News Postcards from Home A new initiative from Penrith City Council offers a way to express some of the experiences people are going through during the COVID-19 pandemic. Postcards from Home is a creative way of you want. The idea is to capture a sense of what sharing thoughts, feelings and processes people it has been like for people living through this have been through at this time, and to connect unusual time. with others. You can view the postcards on Instagram One of the most difficult aspects to COVID-19 has @PostcardsFromHomeArchive been periods of isolation. For many people, this Postcards from Home is a Penrith City Council has meant a huge disruption to daily routines. For Magnetic Places project. others, separation from friends and loved ones has meant increased feelings of loneliness. A tenant of Wentworth, Karen Reybourn* shared her postcard, pictured. Karen’s postcard gives a sense of change and recovery. Her words show her personal approach to recognising hard times and staying attuned to positive changes, when things start to get better. Postcards from Home invites people living, working or passing through St Marys and nearby suburbs to put some of those experiences down. Anyone can take part and you can write whatever *Not her real name. Staying on top of your rent Paying your rent is key to keeping your home. There are many reasons why With the festive season just Financial health means that you people get behind in their around the corner, many of are on top of your commitments, rent. Running a household and us start to think about gift- but you don’t have to get there managing a budget can be a giving and celebrations, which alone.