inCommunity Connect

Our annual Women's Club Christmas Lunch was a huge success! Creating a safe space for women to connect, access support and flourish through social engagement is the focus of our club for women in the Ipswich community. So the annual get-together for the festive season is a much anticipated event and as you can see by our video recap here, everyone had a great time! 🎄

"Yellow, just like the sun. I'm colour-blind, so I can't see yellow, but I know it's me. A sunshine, happy vibe." In describing her favourite colour Jackie might have just given us a profound metaphor for her life so far. Knowing something wonderful exists, and whilst out of reach for the moment, envisaging herself in it all the same. Just like many people her age, Jackie has just graduated from Year 12 when we meet her, and she is excitedly awaiting her ATAR results. However, unlike many of her peers, Jackie has just transitioned from InCommunity Connect's youth crisis accommodation into longer-term housing. An incredible accomplishment. We encourage you to take a moment to read Jackie's extraordinary story at the below link. www.incommunity.com.au www.tenancyskills.com.au

The PM Assist App is the latest cross-sector initiative between the Real Estate Industry and Community Sector that the Tenancy Skills Institute is leading as part of inCommunity. Great to have our longstanding partner McGrath North Lakes on board so early, getting involved. Thanks as always Laura Valenti and team for your support!

"Grateful the Nurses are Here" For a very long time, it has been evident to us as an organisation that the Ipswich community needed an on-the-ground health care service, most significantly for those people sleeping rough. Our organisation's partnership with OneBridge, funded thanks to the financial support of Beddown donors, is now offering opportunities for this type of immediate health care. The impact is extraordinary. From our 2023-2024 Annual Report published this week, we share a story that unpacks how this partnership works alongside the inCommunity Connect Assertive Outreach and Case Management teams and the types of essential health care delivered by OneBridge. Highlighting just two months of this critical partnership in this story, we know that an average of 60 Consultations for Primary Health Care occur each month as the year draws to a close, illustrating the ongoing need for this immediate health care service in Ipswich. We give a heartfelt thank you to Beddown donors and supporters for enabling this essential work to happen. Click image to read the full story here. (Pictured here OneBridge Nurse Tessa and inCommunity Connect Women's Club participant Bec) For more stories from inCommunity Inc's 2023-2024 Annual Report visit https://lnkd.in/gwKBJd3s (Select 2024 Annual Report, Click Open in Browser)

13,000 people engaged with at least one of our programs in the 2023-2024 period, double, plus some more from the previous year—a year of huge impact. This time last week at our Annual General Meeting, our CEO Paul Tommasini and Deputy CEO Nerissa Wade delivered inCommunity Inc's 2023-2024 Annual Report: Innovate. Inspire. Independent. This report explores how these three words embody the 'in' within inCommunity and how we embed them at each touchpoint of our organisation as we seek to support people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. We highlight critical initiatives and programs we delivered in 2023-2024, such as: 🔸 Preventative and early intervention strategies via the Tenancy Skills Institute;  🔸 Deepening our commitment to the specialist profession of Case Management in the Community Sector as led by inCommunity Connect to ensure we continue delivering a quality specialist housing and homelessness service; and  🔸 Onsite access to health care in Ipswich or bed nights for people sleeping rough via Beddown initiatives. When demand for our services has never been higher, our organisation continues to work tirelessly to inspire people as they move forward on their pathway to stable housing. We invite you to take a moment to read just some of the incredible stories that occurred this year - a year when 13,000 people were inspired to believe they could! https://lnkd.in/etiY-4jD (Select 2024 Annual Report, Click Open in Browser)

"Through our early intervention work we are finding that many households experience only one change in circumstances that put their tenancy at risk". Thank you to Local Ipswich News for discussing the current homelessness crisis with our Deputy CEO Nerissa Wade in this week's edition. She explains that our specialist housing and homelessness service has never seen demand like this in 42-plus years. As Nerissa shares further, "As we head into 2025 and with key indicators showing the housing and homelessness crisis is deepening, we urge the government to consider preventative and early intervention strategies that our organisation offers." Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gRcvKEhF

Congratulations to all of the recipients of The REIQ Awards for Excellence 2024. The Tenancy Skills Institute and inCommunity Connect team members were honoured to join in the celebrations at Saturday's awards night. Through our cross-sector collaboration work, we have built extraordinary connections with the Real Estate Industry, an essential stakeholder in our organisation's drive to address the issue of homelessness. It was also terrific to see long-term supporters of our organisation inCommunity Inc be recognised for their excellence, such as Laura Valenti and her team at McGrath North Lakes, for their Contribution to the Community throughout the night. Thanks to the REIQ and the Queensland Real Estate Industry for warmly welcoming us to these celebrations, their night of nights for the year!

On Remembrance Day, inCommunity and our brands of Beddown, inCommunity Connect and the Tenancy Skills Institute join the broader community, honouring those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for us in times of war and conflict. Lest we forget. 

Laid-back, polite, good-natured, and open to the future, 20-year-old Omar* is like any young person you may know. He is ready for the world of crypto, AI, and whatever good fortune lies ahead. We met with Omar on his last day at Hargreaves House, a crisis accommodation program for young people managed by inCommunity Connect . Ticking off his final goal set there of securing long-term accommodation, Omar generously shares his story, including how the support he received from our Case Management team has given him invaluable life experience in such a short period of time. He also shares how accessing free tenancy education delivered via the Tenancy Skills Institute has been critical to his success in reaching this next milestone on his pathway from homelessness to housing. His is a remarkable story. Read about it in our latest blog here. *Client's name has been de-identified.

"I'm going to be signing my lease this month." Our tenancy education program can change the trajectory of someone's life. While spending time at inCommunity Connect Hargreaves House Crisis Shelter for young people, this Tenancy Skills Institute Graduate shares: "After graduating from the Tenancy Skills Institute, I have more confidence in applying for transitional housing options and have recently been approved for my own unit. I am going to be signing my lease this month. I learnt how to communicate properly with housemates and Property Managers and also knowing my rights and responsibilities as a renter. I also learned that if I am struggling with my tenancy I can call the RTA (Residential Tenancies Authority) or QSTARS (Tenants Queensland) for assistance." This is just one of thousands of incredible outcomes! Surely you wouldn't de-fund that? #Betterrentaloutcomestogether Queensland Government Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works