Past Events

How do we respond to the issues that older residents face in finding safe, secure and affordable housing in NSW?

Homelessness and housing insecurity among older residents of NSW is a growing issue, with many people being pushed into crisis due to the failure of our housing system.

The recent Inquiry into Homelessness Amongst Older People Aged Over 55 in NSW has seen the NSW Legislative Council receive many submissions detailing the extent of this crisis, revealing details of elder abuse and severe insecurity. At this Members Meeting, we hope to unpack some of the key findings and discuss the policy solutions that would make a real impact.

This Members Meeting is an open forum for Shelter NSW Members. We want to hear from you at this meeting: your experience, your concerns, and your ideas for stronger advocacy on this issue.

The meeting will start at 4:30pm with an introduction from James Sherriff, our current Membership & Engagement Officer. We will hear from several speakers, including Council of the Ageing NSW Acting CEO Karen Appleby, and there will be time for 'break out' sessions and open group discussion.
The last half an hour from 5:30-6pm will be focused on the practical projects and policy solutions that we are engaged in and the opportunities for Members to contribute to this work. 

How do we respond to the impacts of climate change on housing insecurity?

The climate crisis is escalating rapidly. After devastating bushfires in 2019 we are now seeing major floods across the country, which have wiped out the housing and infrastructure of whole towns like Lismore. This Members Meeting is an open forum for Shelter NSW Members to discuss what should be done to improve the climate resilience of our housing system. We want to hear from you at this meeting - your experience, your concerns, and what you can do to help advocate for real solutions!

This meeting will be held online. Members can register here to access the Zoom details for this event. If you are not yet a member but would like to become one and attend, please join here. 

It is time for Shelter NSW’s third Quarterly Members Meeting! This meeting will be held online (via Zoom) on August 26th from 4:30pm. Please RSVP to admin@shelternsw.org.au ASAP if you are a member and would like to attend, and we will forward on the details.

This time, we will be discussing the current local organising work of the Sydney Alliance that is being carried out in LGAs across Sydney in the lead up to this year’s Council elections in December. Shelter NSW has, over the last few months, helped several teams of local leaders to discern and research their key 'asks' around affordable housing. These asks will be put to Councillors and Council candidates in Assemblies throughout the next few months, in a process which we hope will drive real change at a local level, while also strengthening the capacity of these communities to self-organise and take action again in future.

At the Members’ Meeting, we will hear from guest speakers including local leaders from these teams, as well as the Lead Organiser of the Sydney Alliance, David Barrow and Shelter NSW's Membership & Engagement Officer, James Sherriff. We hope you will join us for this discussion, which will reflect on our work so far and strengthen it moving forward.

Agenda

4:30pm-5:25pm – Members Meeting

• Welcome
• Introductory explanation of the campaign and Shelter's involvement
• Speakers to discuss their experience
• Open discussion, reflections on the  campaign, and how it relates to the broader work of Shelter NSW
• Future Actions

5 minute break

5:30-6:00pm – Special General Meeting

• Introduction and explanation of proposed amendments
• Discussion
• Vote on amendments
• Close

We hope to (virtually) see you there! Please RSVP as soon as possible if you would like to attend. If you didn’t receive the official notice for the SGM, please contact us on admin@shelternsw.org.au so we can resend the proposed wording for your consideration.

Beginning on February 25th, 2021, Shelter NSW is commencing a series of quarterly members meetings - closed forums in which our members can discuss current housing issues and ways in which we at Shelter can effect change.

The meeting will start at 4:30pm and run for an hour and a half, with presentations from our staff and time for open discussion on the key topics.

We will start with an introduction and Acknowledgement of Country at 4:30pm sharp, followed by a run through of meeting etiquette and the full agenda, and a welcome from our CEO, John.

At 4:45pm we'll then get an overview of our Research Agenda, with a focus on our two priority projects - severe overcrowding, and affordable housing - presented by Senior Policy Officer, Ryan Harris. 

Just after 5pm, SPO Cathy Callaghan will give a presentation on the housing issues facing regional NSW communities, and lead an open discussion on how best we can engage with these issues. Whether you live in Bathurst or Bondi, we are eager to hear your ideas, stories, and thoughts on this topic, so please come prepared to share and join in with the discussion!

The meeting will then start to wrap up around 5:45pm, and finish on time at 6pm.

We will be using the ideas and feedback we hear from you to strengthen our work over the next few months, so come prepared to share!

If you are a current member and would like to attend, please contact us by email at admin@shelternsw.org.au to receive the Zoom meeting details.

The Coolah 'Home Base' was born as a dream for independent, autonomous community living for retirees. Older Australians with modest incomes invested their life savings to convert a caravan park in regional NSW into a co-op headquarters for their 'grey nomad' lifestyles. Their dreams were shattered when a dispute about community management spiraled out of control, ending with their land being sold from under them and threats of eviction. Tune in to the recording of this webinar to hear the residents' story; why they invested, where it all went wrong, and the ongoing legal battle they are fighting to win back their beloved retirement community. Residents David, Margaret, Christine and Geoff were present at the Webinar to field questions from attendees.

The story of the Coolah Residents should be a warning to all about the insecurity of housing in Australia.

Hosting the webinar was John Engeler, CEO of Shelter NSW, joined by Shane McGrath, Senior Retirement Housing Worker at the Housing for the Aged Action Group (a not-for-profit community organisation that specialises in older people’s housing justice), to provide context about the wider housing issues older Australians face. Finally, Nick Sabel, CEO of Common Equity (NSW’s peak housing co-operative body) discusses ‘intentional communities’ like Coolah Home Base and the reforms needed to foster their success and avoid other older people falling into a similar situation.

As pensioners, the legal costs of this fight have been exorbitantly expensive for the residents of Coolah 'Home Base'. They have started a GoFundMe crowd-funding campaign to cover these fees and continue their legal proceedings to win back their homes.

Follow the link to help out. All contributions go a long way to supporting the residents in their fight! https://au.gofundme.com/f/caravan-park-help

As a valued supporter of Shelter NSW, we would like to extend an invitation to you to attend our Annual General Meeting. All members are invited and encouraged to attend.

If you are not yet a member but would like to become one, or are an existing member but have not yet renewed, we invite you to complete your application before the AGM via the application form on our website.

We send a big thank you for the support and encouragement you have given Shelter NSW, and look forward to your continued affiliation with us over the next year.