Tenant Connect NewsletterVolume 4, November 2015

• Tenant Satisfaction Survey

• Planting in November

• Protect Your Home

• Keep Cool This Summer

• Christmas Activities

• Tenant Payment Options

• Christmas Shortbread Recipe

• Connecting with Community

• Compliments and Complaints

• Junction Australia’s Christmas Hours

A Word From Scott

Welcome to the Spring edition of our Tenant Connect Newsletter. Our new look refl ects the fact that we are a part of Junction Australia.

As Junction Australia’s registered community housing provider, Junction and Women’s Housing Ltd seeks to build inclusive

communities through the provision of quality housing, community development and social support services. Our mission is for you to have a safe, sustainable and vibrant place to call home and that this is the foundation from which you connect and thrive within your community.

In our last newsletter we mentioned that Junction Australia successfully bid for the property and tenancy management transfer of 608 homes in Mitchell Park. We are delighted to inform you that the transfer of these homes was fi nalised on Saturday 24 October. Junction Australia is now managing and supporting more than 1700 homes across South Australia. We take this opportunity to welcome our Mitchell Park tenants to our broader tenant community.

As our service is growing, we have been reviewing ways that our tenants make their payments. This has highlighted that there are a number of tenants who pay their rent by cash at our offi ces. This has been identifi ed as a safety risk to our tenants and staff and from 1 December 2015 it will no longer be possible to make cash payments at our offi ces. There are a variety of payment options and information on these are provided later in this newsletter.

To enable us to continue to provide a high quality service to you, we have recently welcomed a number of new staff . These appointments are in the areas of:

• Tenant Services – your Tenant Services Offi cer is the person to contact in relation to tenancy matters

• Maintenance – you can call our Maintenance Team on 8210 7010

• Allocations – this team handles all property allocations to new tenants

• Tenant Engagement – our Tenant Engagement Offi cer works with all our tenants, assisting them to connect with each other, with their community and with relevant services

• Community Development – Working alongside individuals and groups to ensure they have the skills and support to bring about local positive change.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the recent Tenant Survey and congratulations to our prize winners. Your feedback is important to us. An overview of the survey results is provided in this newsletter and in the next edition we will outline our Action Plan.

I wish you all a happy and safe Christmas and New Year.

Best Wishes,ScottGeneral Manager

Tenant Satisfaction SurveyWe would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who took part in our recent Tenant Satisfaction Survey. This is a way for you to let us know what you think of the service we provide and how we might improve – it also tells us what is working well.

Prize Winners

The lucky winners of the competition were:

• Ms L Fanning (pictured) Tablet

• Ms J Prendergast (pictured) Tablet

• Ms L Fraser $100 Coles shopping voucher

• Ms S Woodward $100 Woolworths Shopping voucher

• Ms C Carter $50 Woolworths shopping voucher

• Ms C Parry $50 Woolworths shopping voucher

What you told us...

Almost 30% of our tenants responded to our recent Tenant Satisfaction Survey. We really appreciate the feedback.

Here is a summary of the results:

• 93% of respondents strongly agree/agree that Junction Australia staff are approachable and helpful

• 90% of respondents strongly agree/agree that the quality of support and/or services provided by Junction Australia suits their needs

• 93% of respondents would recommend Junction Australia to someone looking for housing

• 90% of respondents understand the role and services provided by Junction Australia

• 97% of respondents understand their rights and responsibilities as a tenant

• 87% of respondents are satisfi ed with the overall condition of accommodation provided by Junction Australia

• 80% of respondents believe maintenance requests are dealt with in a timely manner

• 80% of respondents were satisfi ed with the quality of the repair or maintenance work undertaken at their property

• 85% of respondents strongly agree/agree that their phone calls to Junction Australia are responded to appropriately and in a timely manner

• 77% of respondents felt that their complaints and concerns are dealt with in an appropriate and timely manner (17% didn’t respond or noted it wasn’t applicable to them as they haven’t had to make a complaint)

• 83% of respondents believe the Tenant Connect Newsletter keeps them informed and that the Junction Australia website is helpful.

Many tenants made warm and positive comments about their homes and the service we provide which we greatly appreciated.

Planting in November

Now is the time to be planting beans (both bush and runner), beetroot, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, celery, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, melon, potato, pumpkin, spinach, sweet corn and tomato.

Herbs to grow are basil, chives, ginger, mint and sage.

For a bit of colour in your garden it is great planting time for sunfl owers.

Protect Your Home

Feeling safe and secure in your home is very important. Here are some tips to help you:

• Lock all doors and windows when you leave your home, even if only for a few minutes

• A good neighbour can be as eff ective as a police patrol in assisting to protect your home, so get to know your neighbours

• Let a trusted neighbour know if you will be away more than one or two days and leave them a contact number. Ask them to keep an eye out for visitors, to collect any mail and place your bins out

• Never hide your keys outside the house – leave them with a trusted family member or neighbour.

Christmas Activities

To help you get in the Christmas spirit and provide an opportunity to spend quality time with others, why not colour in this Christmas decoration, cut it out and hang it in your home to celebrate the festive season? On the back you will fi nd a shortbread recipe which would make a great, homemade gift.

Keep Cool This Summer

We all love the sunshine, but keeping cool is important when the temperatures start to soar. Here are some ways to stay cool:

• Close your curtains and blinds to block out the heat from the sun during the day

• Drink plenty of water, even if you don’t feel thirsty

• Wear light loose fi tting clothes

• Limit physical activity and avoid doing anything strenuous such as gardening during the hottest part of the day

• Keep yourself cool by using wet towels, putting your feet in cool water or taking cool (not cold) showers.

Tenant Payment Options

From 1 December 2015 it will no longer be possible to use cash to make payments at our offi ces. There are a variety of options and information on how to make payments to us:

Centrepay

An automatic deduction for your rent from your Centrelink account. You need to set this up though Centrelink – we will be happy to help you to do this.

EFTPOS

In person only at our offices at Gouger Street, Cnr Finniss/Marion Rds and Beach Road. Debit cards only. No cash payments.

Bank

Transfer*

Arrange a direct debit from your own bank to ours:Name of Account: Junction and Women’s Housing Ltd

BSB: 035 053Account No: 298 277Our Bank: Westpac

Cash*

You may pay cash into our account at any Westpac branch in South Australia. Please quote our BSB and Account number as above.

Cheques

or Money

Orders*

By mail or at any of our offices.

*FOR BANK TRANSFER, CASH, CHEQUES/MONEY ORDERS, YOU

MUST QUOTE YOUR UNIQUE PAYMENT REFERENCE NUMBER.

If you don’t know this, please contact your Tenant Services Officer.

Junction Australia’s Trading Hours for the Christmas Period

All three Junction Australia housing offi ces (Gouger Street, Marion Road and Beach Road) will be open during the Christmas period, with the following exceptions:

• Christmas Eve – Thursday 24 December Close 4pm

• Christmas Day – Friday 25 December CLOSED

• Monday 28 December Public Holiday CLOSED

• Tuesday 29 December 10am – 3pm

• Wednesday 30 December 10am – 3pm

• New Year’s Eve – Thursday 31 December 10am – 3pm

• New Year’s Day – Friday 1 January CLOSED

For all maintenance requests it will be business as usual Monday to Friday 8.30am – 4.30pm.

Please note: Afterhours, weekends and public holidays we undertake emergency maintenance only. Contact us on T: 8210 7010.

Connecting with Community

We are keen to have your input on content for this newsletter, so we can make it relevant to you.

Would you be interested in receiving your newsletter online?

Is there interest in the creation of a Facebook page to keep in touch?

Would you like to be advised of various activities/programs in your area?

Do you have any ideas about how your community can be strengthened?

What would you like to see in your community?

Would you be able to provide a few hours to assist Junction Australia in the work we do with community?

Nat, our Tenant Engagement Offi cer, is interested to hear from you. Please contact her on 8275 8704 or email her at tenantengagement@junctionaustralia.org.au

Compliments and Complaints

What is a compliment?

A compliment may be a positive comment made about something that has happened during your contact with Junction Australia.

What is a complaint?

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction with the quality of service we have provided you. A complaint does not result in a review of a decision that can be appealed through our Housing Appeals process.

If you wish to provide feedback, please obtain a copy of our Compliments and Complaints form from one of our offi ces or from our website. Please mail your response to 253 Gouger Street, Adelaide SA 5000 or give it to a member of our staff .

253 Gouger Street, Adelaide Offi ce hours 9am – 4pm

760 Marion Road, Mitchell Park Offi ce hours 9am – 4pm

34 Beach Road, Christies Beach Offi ce hours 9am – 5pm

8210 7000

253 Gouger Street, Adelaide SA 5000

housing@junctionaustralia.org.au

junctionaustralia.org.au

Contact Us

In person

By phone

By mail

By email

Online

Junction Australia’s registered community housing provider is Junction and Women’s Housing Ltd.

Bank Westpac BSB: 035 053 Account No: 298 277

Account Name: Junction and Women’s Housing Ltd

*Please quote your Unique Payment Reference Number

Method1. Preheat oven to 150°C

2. Cream butter and sugar together3. Add fl our and mix until texture is like clay

4. Press dough into ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan,prick all over with a fork, and sprinkle with sugar

(tilt pan to cover the top evenly, then shake excess sugarback into the sugar canister)

5. Bake for about 40-45 minutes (until very lightly brownedjust golden around the edges)

6. Let stand for 5 minutes, then cut intoroughly 24 squares while warm

7. Leave in pan to cool thoroughly.(Shortbread will not be crisp until cool).

Ingredients1 cup (250g) butter, softened

½ cup caster sugar 2 ½ cups plain fl our

Shortbread Recipe