Building Trust, Enhancing Voices: Guiding Principles for Better Aboriginal Tenant Engagement
Starting in November 2023, Street Speak is a new project aiming to improve our communication with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander social housing tenants in the Limestone Coast.
Support Facilitator Margie and Aboriginal Cultural Consultant Doug from KWY Aboriginal Corporation who have supported Unity Housing staff with their training.
Introduction and invitation to read Principles for Better Aboriginal Tenant Engagement
Street Speak is Unity Housing’s internal capacity-building initiative aimed at enhancing cultural competency, trust, and communication to deliver more inclusive services for Aboriginal tenants.
Developed from the 2023/2024 Street Speak Project, the Principles for Better Aboriginal Tenant Engagement guide incorporates valuable insights gained through collaboration with our Limestone Coast Aboriginal tenants and key partners. These principles are designed to strengthen the capacity of community housing providers and sector stakeholders, improving service quality in property and tenancy management, tenant engagement, and casework.
Street Speak’s success was recently recognised when it won the ‘Leading Community Development Practice’ award at the 2024 Community Housing Institute of Australia (SA) Awards. This achievement highlights the project’s role in enhancing engagement with Aboriginal tenants in the Limestone Coast region.
We invite you to explore these principles and consider how they can contribute to fostering better tenant outcomes through more culturally competent and collaborative approaches. Unity Housing thanks its project partners – KWY Aboriginal Corporation, the Department of Human Services, Point Heard, and the Community Housing Institute of Australia (SA) – for their invaluable support in making this initiative a success.