Foundations For Success: a guide for social housing providers working with Aboriginal people and communities

Foundations for Success –Introduction and Overview

Facilitator: Timothy FlynnDate: Month 2015

WEBINAR SESSION ONE

Interactive session - quick virtual room tour

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Acknowledgement of Country

• I would firstly like to acknowledge the original owners of the land on which we all stand

• To elders past and present I acknowledge that it is upon their ancestral land that we all meet

• As we share our knowledge, teaching and practices may we also pay respect to the knowledge embedded forever within the Aboriginal Custodianship of Country

• Always was, always will be Aboriginal land

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What we’ll cover in today’s session

• Before the guide• About the guide• Ways of working with Aboriginal people

and communities• Cultural capacity of organisations• Person and family centered approach

modeling• Introduction to session 2 – The tenancy

lifecycle

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Intention of the guide

The guide has been developed for

social housing providers to

influence practice when working

with Aboriginal families and

individuals to strengthen social

housing tenancies

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The story – Passages

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“To me, Nan’s house was my safe place and symbolises my sense of belonging.

Aboriginal people always return home, to their safe place.

The home is where it all begins.”

Colin Wightman,

the artist of Passages

Foundations for Success question

• Please raise your hand if you are currently working with Aboriginal people?

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Before the guide

Breaking the cycle of Aboriginal homelessness

• Aboriginal people in NSW experience homelessness at a rate more than 3 times that of non-Aboriginal people

• Overcrowding in Aboriginal households in urban NSW is:

– Double the rate of non-Aboriginal families– Six times the rate in remote NSW

• In June 2013, one-third of Aboriginal families were living in social housing

• Two-thirds of Aboriginal families living in private rental experience affordability stress

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What we found?

• Aboriginal households exit public/AHO housing at twice the rate of non-Aboriginal households and have significantly shorter average tenancy length

• Over 60 per cent of exiting Aboriginal households exiting in one year are families with children

• Almost 60 per cent of Aboriginal households who exited in a year returned for multiple assistances within three years

• This pattern of repeat assistance leads to poor housing outcomes for clients and significant financial costs to social housing providers due to property turn over and ongoing assistances

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How was the guide developed?

To respond to our findings, the guide was developed over 3 stages:

1. Review of state, national and international research focused on strengthening tenancies

2. Review of six sustaining tenancy models across public housing, AHO, ACHPs and CHPs.

3. Develop and test the draft Guidelines with four HNSW teams and two CHPs from metropolitan and regional NSW.

We also spoke to staff from public housing, community housing and Aboriginal community housing including a social housing sector forum

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About the guide

About the guide – its launch

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Mychelle Curran, Executive Director, FACS Programs & Service Design and Shane Hamilton, CEO, Aboriginal Housing Office, co-launching the guide on Monday, 23 March 2015.

Links between the guide and other initiatives

• Proposes a flexible client centred approach to improving housing outcomes for Aboriginal clients.

• Was developed in consultation with public housing, community housing and Aboriginal community housing staff.

• The guide is aligned to other FACS initiatives– FACS Statement of Commitment to Aboriginal People the FACS Service Charter

for Aboriginal clients and the Aboriginal Cultural Inclusion Framework 2015-2018– GHSH reforms implemented across Specialist Homelessness Services – Focus on vulnerable households under the draft Social Housing Policy

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What the guide covers

Part 1 - Principles for working with Aboriginal people and communities1. Flexible approach to work with

clients2. Accessible and culturally

appropriate access and service points

3. Services need to be responsive and timely

4. Solutions need to be holistic and take into account diversity and complexity of issues and needs

5. Responses need to be participatory and client focused

Part 2 – How principles apply across tenancy phases1. Application and pre-allocation of

social housing 2. Allocation and tenancy start up 3. Managing emerging issues 4. Tenancy exits

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What today’s session will cover

Part 1 - Principles for working with Aboriginal people and communities1. Flexible approach to work with

clients2. Accessible and culturally

appropriate access and service points

3. Services need to be responsive and timely

4. Solutions need to be holistic and take into account diversity and complexity of issues and needs

5. Responses need to be participatory and client focused

Part 2 – How principles apply across tenancy phases1. Application and pre-allocation of

social housing 2. Allocation and tenancy start up 3. Managing emerging issues 4. Tenancy exits

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Ways of working with Aboriginal people and communities

Ways of working with Aboriginal people and communities

• Please raise your hand if your office could be considered welcoming or safe?

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Aboriginal people felt welcome and supported when they apply for housing assistance

• FACS housing office, Parramatta

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Organisational ways of working

• Flexible and responsive policies and procedures

• Team structures designed for working with vulnerable households

• Importance of Aboriginal staff and specialists

• Culturally competent workforce – senior management to client service staff

• Participation – engagement with community and a person/family centred approach

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Flexible and responsive policies/procedures

• Strong focus on policies/procedures and KPIs can result in client outcomes being lost

• Balance between client outcomes and business outcomes

• Flexible and responsive ways of working enable staff to make the best decision for clients/business objectives

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Team structures for working with vulnerable households

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Flexible client centred

Time demands

Team structure change?

Best fit solution?

Personal and financial cost of housing instability

• What do you think it costs, for just one client who exits and returns for multiple assistances?

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Personal and financial cost of housing instability

• Shelley, Aboriginal woman with two young children, ‘vacated without notice’ after a 13-month tenancy

• Sent letters about rent arrears of over $1,000

• 42 instances of TA over 3 years + bond/rent

• Shelley gave birth to her third child during this time

• Rehoused in social housing

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Flexible and responsive thinking

• Taking a holistic & flexible approach

• Understanding the broader housing need

• Taking a pragmatic approach to policy implementation, need to be policy compliant and still deliver an effective outcome

• What were we trying to achieve?

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Importance of Aboriginal staff and specialists

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1. Critical to services

delivery to Aboriginal

clients / communities

1. Critical to services

delivery to Aboriginal

clients / communities

4. High demand –

specialist referral

form

4. High demand –

specialist referral

form

3. May need additional

support

3. May need additional

support

2. Understanding of

culture and

connection to

community

2. Understanding of

culture and

connection to

community

Importance of Aboriginal staff and specialists

• Aboriginal Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services (ATAAS), if a specialist is not available

• ATAAS provides proactive and culturally sensitive services

• Contact ATAAS on Tenants NSW website

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Ways of working that develop organisational cultural capacity

Feeling culturally competent?

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags

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Local knowledge

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• Do you know the name of the traditional owners in your community?

What does it mean to be culturally aware versus culturally competent?

• What does it mean to be a culturally aware staff member?

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What does it mean to be culturally aware?

• Cultural awareness is having knowledge; but not yet having the ability to use it

• You need to be culturally aware before you can be culturally competent

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1. Don’t know what you don’t know

2. Have an awareness

3. Learn how to use the new knowledge

4. Have the ability to use it

What does it mean to be culturally aware versus culturally competent?

• What does it mean to be a culturally competent staff member?

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What does it mean to be culturally competent?

• Cultural competence aims to foster constructive interactions between members of different cultures.

• Cultural competence requires that organisations have clearly defined, congruent set of values and principles, and demonstrate behaviours, attitudes, policies, structures and practices that enable them to work effectively cross-culturally.

• Cultural competence is best viewed as an ongoing process and an ideal to strive towards.

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Reference: Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria Inc.

Culturally competent workforce

• What could be done to improve the cultural competency of a staff member and/or team?

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Culturally competent workforce

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All staff must be culturally competent.

Cultural competency can be developed over time.

Contextually relevant.

Formal training

Learning from local Aboriginal staff

Engaging with community Elders

Cultural Participation – engagement with community

• Engage the local community and Elders • Establish a process for ongoing advice and relationship building• Support community based activities, i.e. NAIDOC or hosting tenant

events = build trust• Attend community hubs – e.g. community, medical or art centres• Senior management needs to engage with Elders and community• Careful not to over consult, and over promise• Diverse views are often held within a community

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Senior Management’s role

• Senior management needs to engage with Elders and community• Lead by example, and see that working within your local community is

important• Set the Organisational culture priorities & cultural standards

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Standard 5: Service delivery and practice

Standard 6: Governance

Standard 7: Feedback, issues resolution and complaints

Extent you meet the standard as a Manager

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Non-compliance (below 50%)

Medium compliance (51%-70%)

High compliance (71%-90%)

Leading practice (91% above)

Standard 1 Key principles:Privacy, confidentiality, Dignity, Self-determination.Rights to quality service provision, kinship principles and cultural safety.

Standard 2 Key principles:Historical policies and practices are understood and addressed. Social impacts and family dynamics are incorporated in service design.

Standard 3 Key principles:

Individual, family, community needs are the focus of decision-making. Individual and family dynamics are respected and addressed through policies and strategies.

Standard 4 Key principles:

Aboriginal people are able to access appropriate services for their tenancy needs. Services use and promote referral networks to Aboriginal tenants.

Standard 5 Key principles:Aboriginal cultural and family requirements drive service delivery. Knowledge-based and relationship-based service delivery is valued and promoted.

Standard 6 Key principles:Governance roles lead change and inclusion of Aboriginal issues. Strategic leadership is responsible for driving change throughout the service

Standard 7 Key principles:Feedback, comment and advice are integral to improved service quality and capacity. The diverse viewpoints and feedback of Aboriginal tenants, client and agencies require culturally appropriate and sensitive mechanisms and communication skills at all levels.

Culturally Competent Executive

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HOW DO WE ACTIVELY ENSURE THE PARTICIPATION

OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE?

HOW DO WE TEST IDEAS AND PRACTICE INITIATIVES TO ENSURE

CULTURAL APPROPRIATENESS

WHAT ASPECTS OF OUR SERVICE ARE “ABORIGINAL-FRIENDLY &

WELCOMING?

HOW OFTEN DO WE PROVIDES ABORIGINAL CULTURAL TRAINING TO OUR MANAGERS AND STAFF?

WHERE DO WE GET ADVICE AND INFORMATION ON

WHAT CULTURAL ASPECTS ARE RELEVANT AND

CRITICAL TO SUPPORTING TENANCIES?

IN WHAT WAYS ARE OUR PROCESSES LOCALISED OR TAILORED FOR OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES?

DO WE ASSESS FEEDBACK WITHIN A CULTURAL FRAMEWORK?

ARE SENIOR MANAGERS REPORTING TO LOCAL COMMUNITY LEADERS OR ORGANISATIONAL NETWORKS REGARDING ABORIGINAL SERVICE DELIVERY

GOALS AND ACHIEVEMENTS?

DOES YOUR DISTRICT/ORGANISATIO

N HAVE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE ON YOUR

EXECUTIVE?

DOES YOUR EXECUTIVE SPECIFICALLY ENQUIRE REGARDING ABORIGINAL

PERSPECTIVES, OUTCOMES OR DOES IT RELY ON STANDARDISED KPI REPORTS?

HOW MANY ABORIGINAL NETWORKS AND REFERRAL PATHWAYS DOE WE

HAVE IN PLACE?

DO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY REFER TO THEMSELVES AS, KOORI, MURRI,

GOORI OR SOME OTHER COLLECTIVE TERM?

WHAT TYPES OF SUPPORT AND MENTORING IS AVAILABLE TO

ABORIGINAL STAFF?

ARE THERE ANY LOCAL MATERIALS SPECIFIC TO THIS AREA AVAILABLE?

Ways of working that develop a person and family centred approach

Culturally competent workforce

• How would you describe a person or family centred approach?

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Participation - a person/family centred approach

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Person and Family-Centred Practice Model

Practice that builds relationships Practice that supports choice and participation

Technical quality

Staff values, attitudes and beliefs

Staff interpersonal skills and behaviours

Decision-making and action

Flexible and responsive services and supports

Staff expertise, applied to benefit the client and family

Developing co-designed pathways (shared decision making) with individuals and families ensures preferences and decisions are understood and respected and those decisions deliver improved social housing outcomes.

Participation - a person/family centred approach

• Mother with 2 adult children (both low level mental and health issues)

• Mother passes away. Father’s housing application denied. All advised to leave property

• Very difficult outcome for this family. Further discussion took place and ……

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Solutions - a person/family centred approach

• Taking a holistic & flexible approach

• Understanding the broader housing need

• Taking a pragmatic approach to policy implementation, need to be policy compliant and still deliver an effective outcome

• What were we trying to achieve?

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Participation - a person/family centred approach

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1. Strengths, risks, wants and needs

2. Strengths based planning, long term solutions

3. Empowers people to make choices affecting their lives

4. Enables people to exercise choice in service delivery and life decisions

Collaborative partnerships

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What we’ve covered in today’s session

• Before the guide• About the guide• Ways of working with Aboriginal people

and communities• Cultural capacity of organisations• Person and family centered approach

modeling

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Session Two Overview

Session Two

Foundations For Success: a guide for social housing providers working with Aboriginal people and communities

Tenancy lifecycle

application – tenancy ends

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Host: Milka TrifunovicFacilitator: Tim FlynnDate: 2015

What session two covers

• Application and pre-allocation • Allocation and tenancy start up• Managing emerging issues during the tenancy• Organisational building blocks• Exits from social housing

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Thank You and See you in session two

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