Message from the CEO
Welcome to the Autumn edition of the WPI Times, a news bulletin for renters. In this news bulletin you will find useful tips for preparing your home for the colder winter months ahead. You will also read about our new homes in North Eastern Victoria for young women and their children. These are WPI's first homes in regional Victoria and we were pleased to open the doors to the new residents in April this year.
WPI is keen to increase ways we can involve renters in our services and this year we are launching a Renter Advisory Panel to ensure that renter voices are central to the work that we do. This is a great opportunity to get involved in working with us to establish the panel and you will be able to read more about it in this news bulletin.
Finally, WPI are delighted to introduce our 2025 Great Neighbour Awards. This year for the first time we want to recognise and celebrate neighbours who reach out, support and help care for WPI renters and/or your neighbourhood. Nominating someone is a perfect way to say thanks for being a great neighbour and give them the opportunity to win 3 prizes of $200 Visa Gift Cards. You can read more in this bulletin to find out how you can nominate your neighbour.
Warm regards
Roberta
WPI is seeking to recognise and celebrate individuals in our communities who reach out, support and help care for the people in their neighbourhoods. People who make their communities better places to live, work and thrive. Our three winners will receive a $200 prepaid visa gift card.
Nominating a person is really easy. Simply fill out the form below. If your nominated person receives an award, you will also receive a $50 Visa Gift Card for nominating them!
Answer a few simple questions to nominate a great neighbour here
The Nest
Last month we were delighted to gather with our partners to officially open The Nest in North Eastern Victoria. The Nest is a collaboration between the WPI, philanthropy and businesses who have worked hard to create homes for young women adjusting to parenthood. This partnership with the Property Industry Foundation who provided much of the funding and The Bridge Youth Service who will deliver wrap around supports for the young women and their children, has delivered three beautiful homes.
This is WPI's first step into regional Victoria and our first ever modular homes. Our CEO, Roberta Buchanan, spoke about how proud WPI is to be able to open the doors of these homes and give these young women access to opportunities that are created by secure and affordable housing.
WPI received generous funding from the Felton Bequest and the Jack and Ethel Goldin Foundation for our contribution to the project.
Renter Advisory Panel
We are creating a new opportunities for our renters to influence our services. For many years, WPI has had an Advisory Panel in place, which is a group of of industry experts who help us, with their expert advice in relation to construction, property, business development and law etc.
We recognise our renters are also experts in how we should design and deliver our services and this year we are creating a Renter Advisory Panel to ensure that renter voices are at the heart of the services we offer.
By forming this panel, we aim to get feedback and ideas directly from our renters about our services, what works well and the improvements you think we need to make.
Part of the role of renters on the Renter Advisory Panel will be to meet with us online or in person and help us develop a terms of reference for the Panel, the frequency of meetings and develop the first work plan.
If this is something that interests you, or you'd like to find out more, we welcome expressions of interest from you. To join in the panel you must be a Renter. Please email us and let us know your name, contact details and we will reach out to you to discuss.
Preparing Your Home for Winter
There are a couple of simple steps that you can take to help your split system operate more effectively & save you money on your power bills.
Condenser
- The Condenser is the unit that is generally placed on your balcony or porch
- For optimal performance and longevity of your air conditioner condenser, leave at least 12 inches (30cm) of space on all sides
Change your AC Filter
- Turn off the power. It's important to switch off the mains power when servicing your air conditioner
- Locate the filter. For a split system air conditioner, the filter will be located in the indoor unit
- Remove the old filter
- Clean the filter using warm soapy water
- Insert the cleaned dry filter back into the unit
Tips to Manage Moisture, Mould and Mildew
It is common as the temperature cools and you heat your home, to experience a build up of mildew, especially around windowsills. To rectify this, please follow the steps:
- Ventilate - open a window daily to let fresh air in
- Run your exhaust fans when showering, cooking, or doing laundry
- Open blinds or curtains daily to let light in
- Wipe up any condensation on windows and windowsills immediately
- Regularly clean bathrooms, showers, kitchens, and laundries
- Hang up damp towels
- Where possible, leave space between furniture and walls
- Avoid placing mattresses on the floor
- Use an anti-mould cleaning agent to clean any visible mould immediately
- Report any leaks, damage, or persistent mould immediately
Carly's Story
One of our renters, Carly (not her real name), recently shared her story with us and we wanted to share it with you.
Carly's children are 17, 11, 5 and 2. She was very young when she became a mum. She met her ex-partner at school and was with him for 18 years. For much of that time they lived with his extended family. He was always controlling, disrespectful and there were many years of psychological abuse, but he didn’t become violent until much later.
She left several times, each time for a few more months than the last. But he always seemed to know where they were. With four kids and him putting lots of pressure on her to come back, she did. Knowing that she didn’t want to live with him ever again, Carly left permanently. This culminated in an incident where, unprovoked, he physically assaulted Carly in front of two of her children. Carly’s injuries were significant and have impacted her ability to use her right hand.
The family are safe now in their WPI home, but still have trauma from this violence. Stability and consistency have helped with recovery and they are now in a much better place to make key decisions regarding their future. After a period of living with her parents, Carly was handed the keys to a beautiful, new, fully furnished, WPI home. She was worried about managing on her own, but she knew they would find a way to make it work for a happier future. And they have.
“We are still settling in and trying different ways of organising things to make sure everyone feels comfortable. It has really helped me become more independent. I’ve been able to stand on my own and get things done.” One daughter is about to start year 12, and another to start high school, so there are important decisions to be made about pathways. The home is a safe space for them to work together to figure things out. “I want them to know that I listen and support their choices.” Carly is working with a mentor on career options and the sorts of work she can do with her current capacity. She is excited about the possibilities.
Away from trauma, the family is finally stable. “The kids are starting to call this home. They didn’t believe it was ours in the beginning. My oldest daughter is quite house proud. She has friends over. She was never allowed to do that before.”
If you'd be interested in sharing your story with us, please reach out here
