Horizon Housing's offices will be closed from Wednesday 25 December, 2019 and will re-open on January 2nd, 2020 for the Christmas and New Year break. We at Horizon want to wish you all a safe and joyous Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. Also, we will be closed on Monday 27 January for Australia Day.
what’s happening in your region?....……………….....................2
horizon update & logan youth foyer?…..………………...……….…….....3
changed contact details recently?…………………………………...3
how to plan & prepare for a natural disaster……...........……....4
valued tenant raffle……….……….5
xmas competition.......................6
horizon housing’s simple recipe section…………………..………….………7
xmas security...………………………..7
important contacts…………..…...8
contact us…………….………………….8
Welcome to the Summer edition of Horizon Housing’s tenant newsletter. Whether you’re a new or an existing tenant living on the Gold Coast, Caboolture, Maranoa and beyond, we are committed to keeping you updated and connected by bringing you helpful information, events and developments. Do you have an idea for the newsletter or a happy story to share with our 2,400 plus tenants? Maybe you’ve heard of an upcoming event
that we should all support or have a delicious recipe you would like to publish? Please send us your ideas so we can share with others. We hope that you enjoy this edition of the newsletter and look forward to hearing your feedback. To share your story or provide your feedback on the information you would like to see, please email [email protected] or contact us on 1300 133 027.
Horizon Housing are always contactable after hours for maintenance emergencies only on 1300 133 027. Some examples of an emergency include (but are not limited to): • Loss of hot water; • A burst water service or a
serious water service leak; • A gas leak; or • A fault that makes the property
unsafe. For emergencies like flooding or storm damage, please contact the SES (State Emergency Service) on
132 500 or City of Gold Coast Disaster Hotline on 1800 606 000. Always remember if you are in a life threatening situation, call 000 for assistance.
Carols by Latern Light, Christmas Concert—22 Dec, Highfields Pioneer Village
Star Story (Art) Workshop with Keg de Souza—9 Jan, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery
Charity Theatre Night—12 Feb, Toowoomba Repertory Theatre
Learn to meditate—9 Jan, Australian School of Meditation & Yoga, Mermaid Beach
Pacific Fair Walking Club—Every Thursday morning at 7.30am, Ground Floor, outside the Coffee Club
Sunday Social Ride—19 Jan, Norm Rix Park, Labrador
Children’s Cycling— 15 Feb, Central Park Basketball Courts, Varsity Lakes
Brisbane City Christmas Parade—until 22 Dec, Queens Street Mall
Nana Magic, Tilly and friends performance—9 Jan, Stones Corner Library, Greenslopes
Lunar New Year—1 and 2 Feb, Chinatown Mall, Fortitude Valley
Multi-sports and mindfulness — 21 Dec, Loganholme State School
Paint like you’re mostly wrong—16 Jan, Logan Art Gallery
Touch Rugby Sevens—16 Jan, Logan City Rugby Union Club, Slacks Creek
Woodford Folk Festival—27 Dec to 1 Jan, Woodfordia
Ginger Flower and Food Festival—17 to 19 Jan, Buderim Ginger Factory
The original Eumundi markets—Every Wed & Sat, 80 Memorial Drive, Eumundi
2020 Rise & Shine—8 to 22 Jan, Childers CBD Wacky Weather Community Event—15 Jan,
Bundaberg Multiplex Convention Centre
2020 Pacific Inclusion—8 Feb, Lighthouse Hotel, 66 Zunker Street Burnett Heads
RESCUE—Now to 8 Mar, 70-102 Flinders St, Townsville City
QCWA Charters Towers Markets—Every Sunday starting 19 Jan, 80 Mosman Street
Taylors Beach Family Fishing Tournament—23 to 24 Feb, Taylors Beach
The Ipswich Jam—starting 22 Dec, every 2 weeks on Sunday, 19 Pelican St, North Ipswich
Eighty8 Hip Hop Dance—Every week on Friday, 344 Redbank Plains Road, Bellbird Park
Sunday Afternoon Tennis for Over 35s—Every week on Sunday, Chermside Road Queens Park Ipwswich
Makers and Finders Market — Every 3rd Sunday of the month. Location: 104 Wollumbin Street, Murwillumbah
Illuminated Landscape Exhibition—Now to 5 Jan, M-Arts Precinct
Roma International Motor Speedway—21 Dec, Two Mile Road
Australian Nature Inspired Children’s Art Activities—Every Tuesday starting 28 Jan, location: TBC but can register via email @ [email protected]
Welcome to the Summer edition of Horizon Housing’s tenant newsletter. As 2019 draws to a close, it is often a time of reflection on what has been achieved through the year and if we delivered on our ‘New Year Resolutions’. 2019 has been a big year for the staff team with many new projects
starting and others concluding. We have said farewell to a few staff across the year and welcomed new staff. In this newsletter, we say hello to Frances Paterson-Fleider, who is the newly appointed State
Manager for Queensland following the departure of Jamie Muchall who has moved on to a new position closer to his home. We thank Jamie for his 11 years of loyal service and wish him every success in the future. Frances brings over 30 years’ experience of working in the Housing Sector and believes that appropriate and affordable housing is a basic human right and is fundamental to individual, family and community well-being. We are excited to have Frances as part of the Community Housing group and look forward to many new and exciting projects coming to the fore in 2020. One of the activities that will be a focus next year is the finalisation of the transition of Horizon Housing to Community Housing Ltd. For residents, this transition will be a seamless process and your housing manager will not change. We do hope however, that you will see some new and exciting initiatives as we focus more on tenant engagement and community development activities that are priorities for Community Housing Ltd. In the meantime, we will close 2019 and wish you all a safe and healthy 2020.
Photo: New State Manager for QLD, Frances Paterson-Fleider
Photo of Queensland State Manager, Jamie Muchall speaking at the celebration of the Logan Youth foyer.
Staff attended the 10 year celebration of the Logan youth foyer on Wednesday 6 November.
Past and current tenants spoke of their experience and also described how their time at the complex has impacted their lives for the better.
The Regional Director for the Department of Housing and Public Works, Mark McConnell, highlighted the outstanding results that have been achieved.
Jamie Muchall, Queensland State Manager, spoke on behalf of Horizon Housing and outlined the importance of partnerships and how the partnership between Wesley, the Department of Housing, Horizon and the tenants produce the great results we have seen over the last 10 years.
Please let us know as soon as you change phone numbers or email addresses, as it’s important for us to have the most up to date contact details. In order for us to provide the best service to you as our tenant, please contact us with any changes as soon as possible so there is no delay in getting any important information to you or urgent matters especially in regards to maintenance. Phone: 1300 133 027 or Email: [email protected]
Queensland is one of the most impacted states in
Australia when it comes to a natural disaster. Fires,
cyclones, monsoonal rain, storms and heatwaves are
the most common. Households that are well
prepared before a natural disaster occurs are more
resilient and can recover faster. Being prepared is
even more important for households that are
considered vulnerable. These vulnerabilities include
those on low or fixed incomes, with chronic health
conditions, older people, poor English skills and
residing in rural or remote communities. Children
and young people are particularly vulnerable to the
impacts of emergencies. Emergencies are not often
understood by children and they can find them
frightening and confusing. As well as relying on
others to protect them and make decisions around
their safety, factors that can impact on children and
young people’s ability to cope with disaster include
their age, presence or absence of a parent during the
event, reaction of adults to the event and pre-
existing health issues.
Community based organisations often have in-depth
knowledge of local people, history, risks and
community. This local knowledge and understanding
informed Community Housing Limited’s Vulnerable
Queenslanders Project made possible with funding
from the Federal/State government. The project
works across communities of the Gold Coast, Roma,
Maryborough and Toowoomba to inform, educate
and promote how you plan and prepare for a natural
disaster. Working with the Australian Red Cross, local
residents and services have been invited to meet and
start a conversation around how we plan and
prepare to ensure that we understand what to do
and when in case of a disaster. The Australian Red
Cross RediPlan is provided along with other material,
however the most critical point has been for us all to
start the conversation with neighbours, friends,
family, carers and services to get us thinking and
planning. In Roma, 100% of the residents that
attended the community conversation said they had
experienced one or more natural disasters, however
90% said they didn’t really understand what they
needed to do in case of one. The big concerns
included what happened to their pets/animals (an
important issue in most communities we visited),
how to get medication and access to drinking water.
On the Gold Coast, over 100 copies of the RediPlan
were handed out, in Maryborough the need to
ensure our homes were properly prepared (due to
high winds) was stressed. Anything left outside can
become a risk and injure others if not stored/secured
properly.
Most of our Queensland tenancy and property
management staff have attended a session by the
Australian Red Cross on how to plan and prepare so
they can raise awareness and assist our tenants to be
better prepared. They are available to have
Photo: A man leaving his home walking through flood waters.
conversation with and will help access any resources required.
Australian Red Cross will soon co-design a brochure with us specifically for our households across Queensland on
the key steps they need to take and what they need to do to better plan and prepare for a natural disaster.
A copy of the Australian Red Cross RediPlan can be downloaded at
https://www.redcross.org.au/getmedia/b896b60f-5b6c-49b2-a114-57be2073a1c2/red-cross-rediplan-disaster-
preparedness-guide.pdf.aspx.
Additional Australian Red Cross resources are available at :
https://www.redcross.org.au/get-help/emergencies/resources-about-disasters
Photo on left-hand side: Aerial view of Outback Cattle mustering featuring herd of livestock cows.
Photo on right-hand side: Bushfire in Sydney area, NSW.
Every month Horizon Housing give out raffle tickets to say thank you to those who
demonstrate great tenant conduct and tenancy practice. Some examples of reasons we might thank you are: Fantastic Routine Inspections; Positive Rent/Payment History; Feedback on your Tenancy; and Neighbourhood Participation. We draw the raffle at the end of each month, with the previous month’s tickets removed out of the draw ready for the next month! What do you win? A $50 gift voucher! It doesn't get any better than that for being our most valued tenant!
Don’t Forget our Xmas Hamper Comp! We all know that Christmas is a joyous
time of the year for everybody, but for
some it can be a little bit more tough
than the others.
Our thoughtful Property Owners and
Affordable Housing Team at Horizon
Housing have kindly donated money
towards a number of Christmas Hampers
to be given out to lucky tenants, because
smiles are all worth it!
How do I win?
In order to win 1 of the Christmas Hampers, all you need to do is get
ahead on your rent which automatically gives you 1 ticket to be in the
draw!
Just pay a little extra over the coming weeks so that your rental payments
are paid 2 weeks in front (paid to the 27th December 2019) by close of
business 13th December 2019, with the raffle being drawn at 1pm on the
14th December! DON’T MISS OUT!
Want to know more?
To find out where you are already paid up to, call us on 1300 133 027 or
speak with your Property Manager.
SERVING SIZE: 8-12 TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES INGREDIENTS • 2C heavy whipping cream, very cold • 2 sponge cake blocks • 1C cold milk • 1 pack of instant vanilla pudding • 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, cold • 1kg of fresh strawberries, sliced • 500g frozen mixed
berries, partially thawed in fridge • Strawberry Fruit Glaze FOR THE CREAM: Step 1 Beat cold whipping cream on the highest speed for about 3 minutes or until fluffy and stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use. Step 2 Whisk 1 cup milk together with instant pudding until well blended, then whisk 1 can of refrigerated
condensed milk until smooth. Gently fold in the whipped cream and refrigerate until ready to use. ASSEMBLING YOUR CAKE: Step 1 Chop your sponge cake into 1” cubes and place 1/3 of them into the bottom of your trifle bowl. Step 2 Add 1/3 of your cream and spread around somewhat evenly (it doesn’t have to be perfect!) Step 3 Add 1/4 of fresh/frozen fruit around on the walls of the bowl. Step 4 Spread a thin layer of glaze over the fruit. Step 5 Repeat steps 1-4 until you have 3 layers of cake. Step 6 Arrange your remaining fruit over the top of your cake and brush a thin layer of glaze over the fruit. Source: natashaskitchen.com
As some or most of us begin to close up the year by
going away over the Christmas and New Year break, it
is important that we be extra vigilant and ensure your
property is kept as safe as it can be while you are
away.
You can do this by making sure:
• You have someone to collect your mail/rubbish
bins;
• You have checked and locked all your doors and
windows before leaving;
• Any outside items like tools are secured and
locked away;
• Your lawns are mowed before leaving;
• Electrical devices aren’t left on that should not be,
especially things like hair straighteners, wifi
modems etc;
• You inform Horizon if you are going on an
extended holiday and provide alternate contact
details.
Now that that’s all done, we once again want to wish
you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and
happy New Year!
Organisation Contact Number
Housing Assistance
Qld Government Gold Coast Housing Service Centre
Rent Connect: (please contact your local Housing Service Centre)
Qld Government Toowoomba and South West HSC
Qld Government Townsville HSC
Qld Government Bayside HSC
Qld Government Logan HSC
STARH (Supporting those at Risk of Homelessness)
Gold Coast Homelessness Hub, UnitingCare Community:
Southern Services & Blair Athol
Northern Services—Bryant Place
INTAKE email for GC Homelessness Hub
HPIQ (Homeless Hotline)
5645 8100
1800 623 435
1800 806 197
3034 9800
3086 3700
5569 1838
5579 6060
5579 6071
1800 474 753
Tenancy Infor-
mation and Advice
Residential Tenancies Authority
QStars
1300 366 311
1300 744 263
Support Services—
General
Blair Athol
Salvation Army
St Vincent de Paul Helpline
Ozcare
Centrelink
5579 6060
137 258
1300 633 343
1800 692 273
1800 050 004
Support Services—
Mental Health
Beyond Blue
Suicide Call Back Service
Lifeline
MensLine Australia
ParentLine
Sane Helpline
1300 224 636
1300 659 467
131 114
1300 789 978
1300 301 300
1800 187 263
Head Office
Level 1, Campus Alpha
Suite 101, 2 Investigator Drive
Robina, QLD, 4226
Opening Hours:
Monday—Friday
8.30am—4.30pm
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 1300 133 027
Fax: 07 5578 9522
After Hours Maintenance Emergencies:
1300 133 027
Roma Regional Office
31A Hawthorne Street
Roma, QLD, 4455
Please note the Roma office is closed on Wednesdays.