Albany community housing services receive more than $1m to upgrade facilities

Two Albany organisations providing housing to vulnerable youth and Aboriginal people have received more than $1 million in State Government funding to improve their facilities. Albany Youth Support Association and Southern Aboriginal Corporation were among 47 community housing providers across WA to receive funding through the WA Government’s Social Housing Economic Recovery Package last week. AYSA received $371,955 through the program which will be used to upgrade its Young House refuge providing around-the-clock crisis accommodation and support for people aged 15 to 25 experiencing or at risk of homelessness. AYSA chief executive Ian Clarke said the funding would help deliver upgrades to security and living facilities at the refuge which has continued to experience high demand this year. “We believe it is very fortunate to be able to get this funding, it is going to add to the life of the building,” he said. “The building is old and there hasn’t been any work done on it for probably 10 years, so we are long overdue for some work in that space.” SAC chief executive Asha Bhat said the corporation would use $742,207 to renovate six houses across the South West, Wheatbelt and Great Southern to improve liveability and amenity for its tenants. “In these regions, the Aboriginal population have limited alternative housing options,” she said. “There is a massive gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in terms of life expectancy. “As a lead Aboriginal organisation, our aim is to provide safety and dignity to our tenants by maintaining our properties to the highest standards. “We are very delighted about this grant and our tenants can take pride in themselves in maintaining neat and tidy houses.”