Accordwest has been part of the fabric of the community in the South West for more than 40 years and on the ground with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
The charity was founded in 1983 as a startup with the launch of Bunyap, the Bunbury Youth Accommodation Project.
Since that time, the not-for-profit’s vision to support people experiencing hardship and disadvantage to live the life they choose to live has not faltered over four decades.
“For all these years, people have been our purpose, driven by a belief that ‘every story matters’ – no matter how big, how small, or who is telling the story,” Accordwest CEO Evan Nunn said.
“In every case we aim to support people to live the life they choose and help them to navigate their unique circumstances, so the issues are not so insurmountable.”
A more recent example of years of innovation was seen in Accordwest’s Tiny Houses initiative, launched in 2021 as part of the WA Government’s 10-year homelessness strategy, which has demonstrated how partnerships between community organisations, local businesses, the local community, and state government work effectively to address homelessness.
The initiative, led by a 2017 election promise by Don Punch MLA who helped secure a $180,000 grant for the project, offers ‘transitional accommodation’ through collaboration with local community groups, organisations and businesses on vacant land owned by the Salvation Army in Bunbury.
The project won a Shelter WA award in 2023 sponsored by Rio Tinto and has been praised for addressing the root causes of homelessness, rather than symptoms, by helping to keep local people off the streets and from sleeping in their cars into a place of security where they transition into more permanent accommodation.
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The houses give residents the foundational security of a home and the time and space to get back on their feet. Each tenant works with a dedicated housing support worker to secure long-term accommodation and create a plan for their future.
“Now that the Tiny Houses concept has been proven successful, we plan to develop more social housing options across the South West so we can continue to provide vital relief and ongoing support to our most vulnerable community members,” Mr Nunn said.
The passing of legislation in the Federal Parliament to create the Housing Australia Futures Fund (HAFF) is a social housing accelerator, providing co-investment finance opportunities for 40,000 social and affordable homes which presents an exciting opportunity for the South West.
“We have decided to take a lead by finding a way to ensure the HAFF and state government grants and donations can be used to impact the homelessness problem at a local level. The HAFF facility is very encouraging and should lead to innovation that is meaningful for the South West region,” Mr Nunn said.
Accordwest CEO Evan Nunn.
Accordwest has a vision to meet the rising and unmet needs of homeless people in the South West region and this was discussed at the Symposium100 event held at the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre on 10 May 2024.
Like-minded individuals, organisations and businesses with philanthropic mindsets took part in the groundbreaking event designed to genuinely help solve the homelessness crisis in the South West, bringing a bold vision to design, fund and build at least 100 brand new social houses across the South West closer to becoming a concrete reality.
“Our vision to build at social homes is built on a core belief that homelessness is something we can solve through community partnerships,” Mr Nunn said. “We’ve got to do better and we will. Together we must make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.”
Jen Ehlers, Social Ventures Australia Director, who was Master of Ceremonies at the Accordwest Symposium100 event in May.
The initiative comes as a series of homelessness findings lay bare a worsening homelessness crisis having ramifications in local South West communities. The South West recently recorded the highest proportion of rough sleepers in WA, with a 63 per cent increase in people experiencing homelessness, up from 415 to 676 (ABS Census, 2021).
The problem is widespread across the South West region, with ongoing repercussions in the community. Findings from the ‘advance to zero’ campaign by the West Australian Alliance to End Homelessness (WAAEH) – an independent champion for preventing and ending homelessness in Australia – revealed worrying health and wellbeing trends experienced by those facing homelessness in WA.
Many of those surveyed reported a raft of physical health issues, from heatstroke, serious brain injury and head trauma, to epilepsy, asthma, diabetes, and kidney disease. More than half reported depression (59%) and anxiety (52%), while almost a third (30%) reported diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
More than 90 per cent of those surveyed had regular income, and 85 per cent said they had control of their finances. Only 22 per cent reported that their basic needs were met, with less than half (41 per cent) reporting that they received enough money to meet their expenses on a fortnightly basis.
The biggest priority to meet this challenge head on is to provide more housing, Mr Nunn said, an early intervention and prevention strategy that will reduce trauma for women and children and their families as well as single men who are the people Accordwest often sees without shelter.
Accordwest's Symposium100 event held in Bunbury in May.
“Housing has been shown to be of enormous importance to the health of not only individuals, but entire communities, with benefits ranging from preventing mental health disorders, to improving educational growth, and protection against domestic violence, as well as potentially reducing the health service costs associated with them, all while boosting the economy via job creation,” he said.
“It is estimated that for every 100 units of new social housing, 80 construction jobs and 30 ongoing jobs are created. It is clear that providing housing to vulnerable people is an early intervention and prevention strategy for the people and places we live in.
“This is something we can all get involved in and solve as a community right now,” Mr Nunn said.
The data supports an emerging ‘rent stress’ trend in the South West and Perth, observed by WA government agencies and highlighted in Anglicare’s Rental Affordability Survey, where families with employed parents are increasingly becoming homeless as their incomes become insufficient to secure rental accommodation.
A recent industry body report has estimated that the South West region needs 5,600 new homes by 2041. To do this, the social and affordable housing stock needs to grow by an average of 5.8 per cent per annum over this period; the equivalent of an additional 200 to 300 homes every year.
In the early part of FY22/23, Accordwest was granted $5.8 million by from the Department of Communities’ Community Housing Grants program to complete its Bunyap (Bunbury Youth Accommodation Program) expansion project, a two-storey facility with eight independent living units which will support up to 10 young people in need at any one time.
Expected to be complete by December 2025, Bunyap 2.0 will provide a safe space for young people aged 18-25 experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including those transitioning out of foster care, to help break the cycle and provide access to vital wraparound supports that help put them on a path towards securing a long-term housing solution.
“We are proud to have a longstanding commitment to being a part of the housing and homelessness solution here in the South West,” Mr Nunn said.
Bunyap 2.0 as conceptualised (concept drawing) by MCG Architects, Bunbury.
“Our mission has always been to support more people to live the life they choose to live by providing a suite of wraparound services that assist the community to make safe choices in life. With a genuine, person-centred approach, we’re thinking ahead to anticipate the needs of tomorrow,” he said.
“Bunyap 2.0 will play an important role for our organisation as part of a broader strategy to support more people experiencing hardship and disadvantage to better manage their lifestyle, health, relationships and general wellbeing, so they can live the life they choose to live.”
Accordwest’s Collie Transitional Housing Project also started construction in January 2024 to provide Collie with three homes delivering the local community transitional housing for women and their families who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
“Over the last few years, the South West’s housing supply has been profoundly impacted by socioeconomic factors that have meant it is now not uncommon to spend more than two years waiting for housing.
"The construction of these new ‘safe spaces’ will help break the cycle and set more women up for success by offering them the chance to get a roof over their heads, create an action plan to find the support they need, build their self-confidence, dignity and skills to regain control of their lives, and start the journey towards moving into a home or rental of their own,” he said.
Accordwest has been developing its capacity and capabilities to grow a social housing portfolio to 100 or more homes over time.
“We are uniquely positioned as a registered social housing provider to launch exciting new initiatives with the potential to drive meaningful change in a way that actions our strategic plan to support people experiencing hardship and disadvantage to live the life they choose to live by supporting them to better manage their lifestyle, health, relationships, and general wellbeing,” Mr Nunn said.
“We are prepared to embrace the challenges of growth and capacity-building, exploring potential partnerships with housing providers for community and social housing projects. Together, we have the power to reshape the narrative, turning challenges into opportunities, and ensuring that every story matters.”
Evan Nunn, CEO of Accordwest, at the Symposium 100.
Accordwest’s first ever Hello Roadshow in October 2023 was received with open arms, bringing many in the Bunbury, Collie, Busselton, Manjimup and Margaret River communities together in support of those sleeping rough and doing it tough and sparking lifechanging conversations.
“Something as simple as saying ‘we see you’ can be so powerful, and in some cases, even alter the course a life is heading in a genuinely positive way. Every story really does matter, and we’re feeling there is the potential for the Hello Roadshow to play a role in the future for regional social services,” Mr Nunn said.
“The South West is why we do what we do. Our friends, our families, neighbours, teachers, shopkeepers – they’re the reason we’re planning projects like this and making courageous decisions that influence social change."
Mr Nunn added that the support of the government, partnerships, donors and sector colleagues make Accordwest's work happen and brings its mission to life.
“We thank the Government of WA and its leadership though the Department of Communities and the Australian Government and the Department of Housing and Social Services Departments as well other partners and funders such as Lotterywest. We respect and applaud all our colleagues across the sector who we know make people their purpose as well,” he said.
“Most importantly we pay our respects to the Wardandi, Binjareb, Bibbulman, Kaneang and Wilman people of the Noongar nation on the land on which we provide services, for their leadership and resilience and we acknowledge that they are proud and caring people that have never ceded sovereignty.”
By Hearts and Minds
