20 Homes by Christmas: When Canberra’s Community Offers to Help

There are hundreds of public housing homes sitting vacant across Canberra. At the same time, thousands of people are waiting for somewhere safe and secure to live.

For Jonny Warren, that gap is difficult to ignore.

Jonny knows what homelessness can look like because he has lived through it himself.

As a teenager, he became addicted to ice and experienced homelessness. With support from his family, he eventually turned his life around and began working in real estate in 2014.

Over the years, he has supported a number of charities connected to homelessness. But one experience with the Vinnies Night Patrol stayed with him.

“I saw a young lady with her four-year-old child … I was just so taken away by that, and that she was sleeping in her car,” Jonny said.

It brought back memories of his own experience and raised a simple question.

If there are homes sitting empty that only need work before somebody can move in, can Canberra’s property and construction community help get some of them ready?

That question became the 20 Homes by Christmas campaign.

THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN

At the time of the original report, more than 580 public housing properties were vacant across the ACT.

Of those, 285 required upgrades or maintenance before they could be tenanted.

At the same time, approximately 3,650 approved applicants were on Canberra’s public housing waitlist.

The average wait for priority housing was more than five months.

For standard housing, it was more than five years.

Jonny’s proposal is to have the ACT Government identify and approve 20 suitable vacant homes. Local tradespeople, suppliers and businesses would then volunteer their time, materials and skills to complete the work required.

The aim is to help have tenants living in those homes by Christmas.

And people across Canberra have already put their hands up.

“We’ve got plenty of people helping, but you can never have enough hands,” he said.

“For something that was just sort of an idea … to put something out to help the people that are struggling out on the streets, we’ve just been so overwhelmed with the support.”

WHAT DO THE HOMES NEED?

The work required will vary from property to property.

Some need deep cleaning. Others require new paint, carpets, tap fittings or other maintenance before somebody can move in.

“It’s not massive works, but they’re just houses that are just sitting there and just need those final little touches to get people into these housing properties,” he said.

But getting these homes ready cannot simply be about completing the work as quickly as possible.

Housing All Australians ACT Chair Jo Farrell said the quality of the work and the experience of the people who eventually live in these homes both matter.

“There’s a level of dignity and there’s a level of quality that needs to be implemented with this,” she said.

“It’s around doing the right thing for the people that want to live there and live there long-term, so they can get their lives back on track.”

WHY GOVERNMENT SUPPORT MATTERS

Independent MLA Thomas Emerson has backed the campaign and called for the ACT Government to work with the community members and businesses offering to help.

“The government’s obviously struggling on its own to meet the level of demand we’re seeing in our community for safe, secure, subsidised housing,” Mr Emerson said.

“The first half of this year, our public housing waitlist has grown by more than 150 approved applicants, while the number of vacancies has grown by more than 50. Make that make sense.”

For Emerson, the number of vacant properties compared with the number of people waiting for housing makes the need for action clear.

“It’s insane that we have 588 public housing properties that are vacant right now, while we have thousands of Canberrans in desperate need of public housing,” he said.

“Almost 300 of the properties that are vacant need maintenance or upgrades in order to be made liveable.

“And I think it’s incredible that you’ve got Canberrans who are seeing the problem and saying, look, we’re willing to come to the table and actually offer a solution.”

A WIDER CONVERSATION ABOUT PUBLIC HOUSING

Twenty homes will not solve Canberra’s public housing shortage.

The campaign is one practical response to a much larger issue, particularly as the ACT continues to deal with ageing public housing stock and a long waiting list.

Jo Farrell believes addressing the problem will require cooperation between government, community and industry.

“The big conversation with ACT government is how can we actually work together collaboratively between community and industry and not have vacant properties and then have someone sleeping out in weather like this,” Ms Farrell said.

“It’s a society issue, so we can’t just keep laying blame at politicians’ feet or particular community sectors.

“We all have to step up and understand our accountability and responsibility with these issues that are affecting us and then that way we can all do our part.”

One thing the early response to the campaign has shown is that people within Canberra’s construction and property industries are willing to contribute.

“We have a lot of tradespeople who are willing [and] ready,” she said.

“So if there’s going to be a rhetoric around ‘we don’t have the skill set’, we’re not looking in the right place and you’re not talking to the right people.”

COMMUNITY HELP DOES NOT REPLACE LONG-TERM ACTION

ACT Shelter’s Corinne Dobson also welcomed the campaign and the possibility of getting more people into housing sooner.

“We think this is a really welcome initiative and something that we would hope the government can make happen,” she said.

But she also made it clear that community-led work cannot replace the ACT Government’s responsibility to improve the public housing system.

“We know it’s not a substitute for the government actually improving their processes, increasing investment and really making improvements to the condition of public housing.”

That distinction is important.

The 20 Homes by Christmas campaign is about helping where help can be provided now. Longer-term responsibility for Canberra’s public housing system still sits with government.

START WITH 20, THEN SEE WHAT IS POSSIBLE

At the time of the original report, Jonny and his team were preparing to meet with the ACT Government.

Mr Warren said he and his team “have got a meeting [with the government] tomorrow morning, which I hope is the final step”.

The immediate goal remains 20 homes.

But if the model works, Jonny believes there may be an opportunity to do much more.

“We’ll start small and get those 20 numbers and the 20 houses and then if we achieve that and do it with ease and with all the support that we do have, then we can shoot a little bit higher,” he said.

“Our goal is hopefully next year to get 100 homes and 100 people off the streets.”

WHY THIS MATTERS TO US

For Jonny Warren Properties, the campaign comes back to something we deal with every day.

Housing matters because of the people living behind the front door.

For some, property is about buying their first home, selling a family home or finding somewhere new to live.

For others, having a safe place to call home is still something they are waiting for.

The 20 Homes by Christmas campaign cannot solve that problem on its own.

But if 20 vacant homes can be made ready, and 20 individuals or families can move into them, that is a practical place to start.

EVERY HOME SHOULD HAVE SOMEONE TO CALL IT HOME

If you are a Canberra tradesperson, supplier or business that can contribute time, materials or skills to the 20 Homes by Christmas campaign, we would love to hear from you.

Jonny Warren Properties is working alongside members of the Canberra community who want to help turn these vacant properties into safe homes for the people waiting for them.

Get in touch with our team to find out how you can be involved.

Source: Formerly homeless real estate agent spearheads campaign to repair 20 Canberra public housing homes pro bono