Community Housing Refurbishment Grants

Bethanie Housing Limited (BHL) first started offering affordable housing options for over 55’s in the 1950’s and has proudly been registered as a community housing provider since 2009.

BHL now operates 502 properties, housing 600 people across the Perth Metropolitan, Peel and Bunbury regions. As one of few community housing providers to specialise in affordable housing rental options for seniors and pensioners, BHL prides itself on creating strong communities. BHL is recognised as a leader in quality homes and understands that stronger communities lead to a better quality of life for all.

The Community Housing Refurbishment Grants are enabling BHL to modernise and extend the life of 42 of their older units across their Cooloongup, Warnbro, Armadale, and Greenfields locations. Refurbishments include full replacement of the kitchen, bathroom, flooring, paint, and window treatments for each unit.

As BHL embraces and caters for different ages and abilities, these works will help make properties fit-for-purpose for all residents. The completed works are set to give Bethanie’s properties a new lease on life.

CEO Shane Ogilvie: “We are currently a quarter of the way through this life changing project, and we have already seen an overwhelmingly positive impact to the lives of many of our tenants. Improvements to aesthetics, functionality, and enhanced safety elements have all been taken into careful consideration for each individual refurbishment. We are absolutely thrilled with the improvements that we have been able to make as a direct result of the Community Housing funding. Not only for our current residents, but also for our future residents.”

Brightwater Care Group (Brightwater) is a leading not-for-profit provider of aged care, disability, and retirement services. Established in 1901, Brightwater has been part of the Western Australian community for over 120 years.

Boasting 27 locations between Joondalup and Mandurah, Brightwater services accommodate people of all ages and abilities. This includes clients living with dementia, Huntington’s disease, and acquired brain injury.

Brightwater recently received over $800,000 in Community Housing refurbishment grant funding to undertake refurbishment works on their Supported Independent Living (SIL) homes in Balcatta, Bentley, Maylands, and Warnbro. The SIL homes support people living with a disability and ensure they have the best possible quality of life.

The Community Housing grant funding will enable Brightwater to complete targeted works across several of their current houses including bathroom, laundry and kitchen upgrades, improved access to houses through electric doors and swipe cards, and installation of ceiling mounted hoists. 

CEO Catherine Stoddart: “At Brightwater, enabling our clients to be independent, yet supported as they need, is at the heart of what we do. The Community Housing grant funding will make a huge difference to the day-to-day lives of our clients. A great example of this are the works planned for our Warnbro home. Our home in Warnbro is made up of two duplex houses with an office in the middle. By removing a wall and creating a new entry, it will mean our clients will have increased privacy and peace in their living spaces. The completed works will greatly improve the quality of life for our clients, providing increased independence in their homes.”

In Geraldton, Ruah Community Services provides crisis and respite accommodation for people living with severe and enduring mental illnesses and are at risk of homelessness, as well as community psychological support for people throughout the Mid-West. Thanks to a Community Housing grant, their residential units will now become even more inclusive, opening up to clients in wheelchairs with some much needed universal access upgrades including wider doorframes, ramps and bathroom renos. There will also be new air-conditioning to all units, a new shed and a safe and sturdy replacement for an aging back fence – all important work for a place making a world of difference to people in Geraldton and the Mid-West. 

Ruah CEO Debra Zanella: “We are delighted to be able to make these accessibility upgrades, and to make a number of other improvements at our residential units in Geraldton. This will make a real difference, enabling to offer support to more people, and adding to the comfort of the people who stay with us.”

Providing crisis accommodation and a range of support services, Ruah’s Harmony Place is a safe and supportive place for women and children escaping family and domestic violence. The Community Housing refurbishment grant will allow Ruah to expand on their current services and deliver additional physical spaces that promote safety, wellbeing and healing including a sensory room for children with disabilities and/or social and emotional challenges. A new communal lounge area will enable women to engage with one another in a community setting, improving wellbeing though social connection. A much needed, dedicated room for teenagers and refurbished laundry room will also be included in the project.

Ruah CEO Debra Zanella: “This grant makes it possible for us to do a raft of much needed upgrades at Harmony Place. We know that our physical surroundings have an impact on our sense of wellbeing, and so this refresh will ensure we are providing a calming and connected place for the women and children who seek refuge with us to start to heal from the trauma they have experienced.”

Indigo Junction provide homelessness services to youth, families, and the local community in the north-eastern suburbs of Perth. Thanks to Community Housing grant funding, Indigo Junction are building a new Youth Crisis and Transitional Accommodation Facility in Midland. 

The facility will include ten rooms for young people requiring crisis support, and a further ten self-contained units for young people transitioning out of crisis and into secure accommodation.

The building design will focus on meeting trauma informed practice. The completed build will be a culturally safe place for young people, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Construction works are expected to commence in early 2023, with the aim of the building being ready for occupation by the latter half of 2024.

CEO Sharon Gough: “Indigo Junction has a proud history of providing homelessness services for vulnerable young people, families and the wider community.  The Community Housing Youth Service Building Project has been therapeutically designed in partnership with young people with lived experience, the community, and support from the Karlup Aboriginal Corporation. We are excited to be awarded this significant funding boost to build the new Low Barrier Youth accommodation facility. The development meets a significant service gap within the homelessness service system and will provide and environment for young people to connect with respectful accommodation and therapeutic support.”

Langley Villas and Minninup Cottages in the Shire of Donnybrook Balingup are two small clusters of homes used to service social housing tenants. Not only do they provide independent living to tenants, but they also play an essential role in developing a sense of community for the Shire’s most vulnerable. 

The refurbishment works will enable the Shire to upgrade Minninup and Langley properties, all of which were originally developed for and currently utilised by Seniors. The intent of this refurbishment process is to modernise the condition of the units, and to ensure they are made more fit-for-purpose for tenants. This includes ensuring all homes meet the current Accessibility and Disability legislation requirements.

In comparison to the WA average age of 36 years, the Shire has a much higher than average median age of 47 years. Therefore, when assisted care is unnecessary, the Shire of Donnybrook Balingup aims to encourage and support independent living. This enables individuals to maintain their position in the community, without losing their autonomy.

Shire President Cr Leanne Wringe: “This Shire has a long and proud history of providing facilities and services for the vulnerable, including the aged, in our community. Following this Shire’s significant success in major grant funding over the past five years, we are genuinely excited to be awarded such a large grant to deliver major refurbishments for our existing and future tenants.”

As the only Aboriginal-owned and operated community housing provider in the Perth Metropolitan Region, Noongar Mia Mia creates pathways from homelessness to home ownership for Aboriginal people living on Noongar country. With a unique cultural approach, Noongar Mia Mia offers housing, tenancy support and property management to Aboriginal people in need. 

Serving some of the most vulnerable members of Perth, Peel and the Wheatbelt’s communities, Noongar Mia Mia own or manage a combined 91 homes, sleeping nearly 400 people every night. They also connect clients with culturally appropriate local services and assistance with finding and maintaining suitable long-term housing. 

This grant will enable Noongar Mia Mia to improve the usability and liveability of seven homes in the Perth and Peel regions, helping to ensure that vulnerable Aboriginal people have a safe and secure place to live, that is suitable for their needs and preserves their dignity. 

Tina Pickett, Managing Director: “These much-needed repairs will make such a difference to the quality of lives for the tenants in our homes – from babies to Elders! In particular, some of these homes are old and in great need of costly repairs that go beyond just band-aid solutions. We’re delighted that Communities has supported these families while prolonging the useful lives of the properties.”

St Bart’s is one of Perth’s leading not-for-profit providers of accommodation and outreach services for vulnerable Western Australians experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, trauma, mental health challenges or hardship. First opening as a small homeless shelter for men in 1963, St Bart’s now provides person-centred and trauma-informed recovery support to more than 550 people daily, including singles, families and the elderly.

Receiving a Community Housing Refurbishment Grant of $769,353, St Bart’s refurbished several properties including their transitional accommodation for men in East Perth, Community Recovery Villages in Kelmscott and Midland and accommodation units in Midland.

Completed in early 2023, refurbishment works included communal kitchen, laundry and bathroom upgrades, flooring replacement, painting, tiling, glazing and plaster work, landscaping and installation of new kitchenettes and air conditioners. Additionally, 45 windows were replaced across six levels at St Bart’s Men’s Transitional Service in East Perth, allowing improved air flow and thermal comfort, while still maintaining security.

Not only will completed works help to prolong the life of St Bart’s refurbished properties for many years, but the installation of kitchenettes helps to empower residents to re-engage in activities they were not able to partake in whilst experiencing homelessness, such as budgeting for, preparing and cooking meals. 

CEO Samantha Drury: “To say the refurbishments afforded by the Community Housing Grant have greatly improved the living and working conditions of St Bart’s residents, consumers and staff is an understatement.

"We pride ourselves on providing the people in our services with the support they need to work through their recovery and towards securing long-term accommodation in the community. Part of that support means providing the physical facilities that allow them to focus on what they need to do to get to that next stage.

"Just one example of this is the newly refurbished kitchens that sit across five levels in our Men’s Transitional Service. These wonderful new kitchens encourage men to re-engage in activities they were unable to partake in when experiencing homelessness and provide a space for social interaction where men can gather around the breakfast bar and have a chat. Flow on effects such as these are the real benefits Grants funded works have provided to the people in our services.”

The Multicultural Services Centre (MSC) of WA was established over 40 years ago. Today, they provide a range of services and programs to migrants and refugees in WA, including meeting the settlement, welfare, education and training, cultural, and legal needs of those with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

MSC provides support across aged care, disability, mental health, housing and community housing, settlement services, emergency relief, and employment and education (through their Jobs and Skills Centre). MSC is also involved in numerous fundraising activities. They support community and cultural groups by providing facilities, sponsoring cultural activities, and responding to natural or other disasters and humanitarian causes.

Receiving over $45,000 in Community Housing Grants funding allowed MSC to complete a full refurbishment of their 3-bedroom property in Greenwood, one of the older properties in their Community Housing Portfolio. The property needed substantial works, including repair of water damage, guttering, new flooring, painting (both internal and external), and replacement of the kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and laundry.

This refurbishment, which was completed last year, will prolong the life of MSC’s Greenwood property for many years. It will also enable MSC to provide safe, modernized, and well-presented transitional accommodation to their clientele. Accommodated clients will benefit from the refurbishments and will be able to maintain the property and sustain their tenancies more easily.

CEO Ramdas Sankaran: “MSC’s Community Housing properties provide much needed accommodation for vulnerable migrants and refugees who have experienced homelessness and/or domestic and family violence. Without receiving Community Housing Grants funding, we would not have been able to refurbish one of our older properties, which needed urgent repairs. The funding allowed us to provide a safe, clean, and maintainable home for our clients. We appreciate receiving the Community Housing Grant from the Department of Communities and thank them for their support."

As the only youth refuge servicing the Great Southern, the Community Housing Refurbishment grant will allow AYSA to make much needed repairs and upgrades to Young House which in turn will ensure they continue providing a safe, welcoming, and comfortable environment for young people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, as they develop independent living skills.

Albany Youth Support Association’s (AYSA) Young House provides short-term crisis accommodation for homeless, and at risk of homelessness, youth aged 15–25 of all genders and backgrounds. While at Young House, young people are provided with support to assist in their transition to their future living arrangements, whether that is independent living or returning to their family. Services include financial management, employment, training, health, recreation, social and cultural connection, as well as teaching life skills like cooking and cleaning, while providing a safe home and food.  

CEO Ian Clarke: “The team at AYSA were thrilled to receive news of the Community Housing funding, our refuge is constantly full and operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The refurbishment will see some increased office space for our busy Youth Workers, upgrades to kitchen and bathroom facilities for our young people, and enhancement of security for the property.”