| Welcome to Better Together Housing Newsletter Thank you for signing up to receive our updates and a big welcome to our new members. Welcome to our June Newsletter Status of Refunding update As some of you know we are currently waiting on word about our refunding of the Better Together Housing Program. We have been busy with advocacy and are confident that we have done as much as we can to represent you are members and what the program offers. As soon as we hear anything about the refunding of the program we will let you know. Better Together Housing Evaluation On Tuesday we held our Better Together Housing Evaluation. Ten members attended despite their own challenges and circumstances to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences with the program. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to these women for their time and feedback which is so incredibly important for Better Together Housing program to continue to be women led. The women who came together expressed the way that our meetings are facilitated by our Project Lead Maggie who leads the gatherings with kindness, empathy, and compassion has made a big difference in the program. They also remarked that our new website is great to connect with other members, but face-to-face connections are also equally if not more important for them. Our members also expressed that they would like to explore ways that they can tell their stories and journeys to shared housing as well as sharing resources and skills with other members. This feedback as well as all the other feedback we received on this day will help Better Together Housing if we are to be refunded so that the program can continue to be led by women for women. |
PASS-I-ON Workshop Last Tuesday Better Together Housing members and followers came together to share their stories, passions, and possibilities through our PASS-I-ON workshop. The intention was to allow our members to connect through the things that they are most passionate about giving them the opportunities to set aside their challenges in order to connect and relate to one another in a positive up lifting way. The workshop had a combination of art therapy, communication and creative brain storming around sharing ideas and solutions for the future. The members expressed their relief and gratitude on focusing on nurturing themselves and one another. |
Gabriella’s Story – Finding Community, Passion, and Hope worker had gently suggested that connecting with Better Together Housing might help her find a way forward in her current, precarious housing situation. Maggie, our Program Lead, remembers meeting Gabriella at the entrance of the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre—she had arrived early, having travelled quite a distance. “I felt a responsibility to give Gabriella the space to share her story and learn about our program,” Maggie said, “because it was clear she really needed support to have come so far with a support person from Nambour.” Gabriella was welcomed warmly into the group, where local women shared stories of housing hardship. While there were no quick fixes, being together offered a sense of connection and understanding. As Gabriella spoke about her background, something shifted—when she began to talk about her passion for pattern making, her Hungarian heritage, and her decades of experience, her whole being lit up. Despite the instability she was facing, Gabriella’s creativity and joy shone through. Inspired, Maggie reached out to Davinia Vella, Project Manager of Herpreneurs at the Nambour Community Centre—a social enterprise supporting multicultural women through entrepreneurship. She sensed Gabriella would thrive in this community. When they attended a session together, Davinia responded not only with warmth but enthusiasm—inviting Gabriella to lead a pattern-making workshop and offering payment for her contribution. Gabriella was glowing: “I get to do what I love—and be paid for it!” From then on, Gabriella began attending BTH gatherings closer to home in Nambour. Her story sparked the idea for our Passion Workshop series, designed to help women reconnect with their strengths even amid hardship. More recently, Gabriella formed a wonderful friendship with another BTH member through our drop-in sessions. With gentle facilitation and the support of BTH tools, the two discovered a strong sense of compatibility and shared values. They’ve submitted a rental application together and are now patiently awaiting news— hopeful about this next chapter. Gabriella is filled with excitement and gratitude after delivering her pattern-making workshop recently for the Herpreneurs group at the Nambour Community Centre. She dreams of setting up a new home, sharing her craft, and continuing to bring joy through her passion. In her own words, she “just can’t wait to offer more workshops”—proof that community, connection, and the courage to follow one’s passion can truly light the way forward. Onwards and upwards, Gabriella! |
Gympie doing it Tough event
Housing Older Women Support Service Maleny Workshops
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