Shelter NSW at the Housing and Homelessness Forum
Our CEO, John Engeler, had the opportunity the present at the 4th Annual Housing and Homelessness Forum in Darwin at the end of last month.
The first full day of the conference was chaired by Karen Walsh, immediate past CEO and previous board member of Shelter NSW, long term supporter of the Shelter movement, and now CEO of Venture Housing – a leading CHP in the Territory. Karen also facilitated John’s session which was titled “Affordable Housing Isn’t Cheap!” – a very well received presentation aimed at unpacking some increasingly established ‘myths’ about the availability, affordability, appropriateness and amenity of the current negligible and diminishing supply of affordable housing for key workers.
The conference had a particular focus on issues related to Aboriginal housing in rural, regional and remote areas – especially severe overcrowding, which is an increasing area of concern for Shelter at both a state and national level, considering how much this area of market failure features in homelessness census numbers and related information. The visit to Darwin also provided John with the opportunity to meet with Shelter territory peers, other peak representatives and innovative community housing organisations.