A message from our CEO
As we near the end 2024 I like to look back on the year and see how Haven Home Safe has worked to deliver on our purpose that ‘everyone deserves a home.’
Thank you for supporting HHS over the year, your voices and stories help us to advocate for more social and affordable housing as well as funding. We will always work to make sure that issues facing renters and people experiencing homelessness or in housing crisis are shared and heard.
This year we have been proud to deliver new homes across the regional Victoria towns of Horsham, Ararat and Robinvale. If you are a new renter this year – Welcome, we hope you feel settled and safe in your new home.
It has been wonderful to hear about neighbours building communities and working to support each other. A reminder that if festive season is looking particularly tough for you this year, please scroll down to see the Festive Meal Guide with free and donation-based meal options.
We have a lot planned for 2025, but I’m most excited about working on our Client Voice Framework. This will provide opportunities for you to share your ideas, needs and experiences with us. Your feedback helps us continuously improve and also brings us great joy when we hear about the difference housing has made in your life.
Have a safe and enjoyable festive season!
Trudi Ray
Changes to maintenance delivery during the festive season
From Monday 16th December through to Monday 10th January all maintenance calls will be diverted to our service delivery partner Well Done who will prioritise and action urgent works only due to reduced trades people over this period.
Non-urgent works will continue to be responded to by the HHS maintenance team as soon as contractors can be arranged.
You can raise non-urgent maintenance requests via the form linked here, emailing maintenance@hhs.org.au or phoning 1300 100 242 during business hours.
Requests for non-urgent works are subject to availability of trades and may be deferred until after the 10th January.
*Applicable for AHA long term renters who have their maintenance managed by HHS only.
If you are renting Transitional Housing (short term lease)
- Business hours (9am-5pm) – Call your Haven Home Safe Tenancy and Property Manager on 1300 428 364
- After-hours (evenings, weekends and public holidays) – Call DFFH directly on 13 11 72
Office closure dates
HHS offices will be closed for the upcoming Public Holidays on:
- Wednesday 25th Dec 2024
- Thursday 26th Dec 2024
- Wednesday 1st Jan 2025
We are open our usual hours during the holiday season (Monday- Friday 10am-5pm).
Bushfire and hot weather preparedness
As the weather gets warmer it’s important for all Victorians to have a hot weather and bushfire plan.
There are some basic things you can do to ensure your property is prepared such as check that any vegetation within 10 metres of your home meets the following requirements:
- Grass is no higher than 10 centimetres
- No plant-based mulch or leaf litter more than 1cm deep
- No shrubs over one metre
- No shrubs next to or below windows
- No overhanging tree branches
You should prepare your property even if your plan is to leave early on days of fire risk; this will give your home a greater chance of surviving a bushfire.
If any of the above issues are of concern to you, please contact the Haven Home Safe Maintenance Team on 1300 100 242 to discuss what action (if any) is required.*Applicable for AHA long term renters who have their maintenance managed by HHS only.
In addition to the above there are many other measures you can take to keep your property safe.
As part of the everyday care and maintenance of your home, we ask that you:
- Ensure gutters are cleaned regularly to remove leaf litter (HHS* will do this once a year closer to the hot weather)
- Remove or relocate flammable items such as boxes, crates, or old furniture from your property
- Face the safety release valve of all LPG cylinders away from the building
- Store fuel supplies and chemicals away from the house.
Country Fire Association (CFA) resources
The CFA fire ready kit is a great resource if you would like to assess how well you have prepared your home in the event of a fire. The site provides helpful tips and links for bushfire preparedness and planning and steps you can take to protect yourself and your property. We strongly encourage you to complete the Fire Ready assessment via the following web link: http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/fire-ready-kit/
Stay informed this summer
For warnings and alerts visit the VicEmergency website www.emergency.vic.gov.au or call the Victorian Bushfire Information Line on 1800 240 667.
Tune into your emergency broadcasters – ABC Local Radio, commercial radio and designated community radio stations or SKY News Television. For people without an Internet service, we encourage you to visit your local library or internet café.
Make sure you know what fire district you are in.
Other useful websites
Bushfire preparedness
Extreme heat
Thunderstorm asthma
Christmas giving
We have launched our Christmas giving campaign as part of our work to fundraise for Haven Home Safe.
Donations support us to be able to help more people. View our donation page here.
There are also many (other) ways people can choose to help us by:
- Liking and sharing our social media posts to help us to get our message out to more people.
- Choosing Haven Home Safe as your donation partner when you donate cans through the Victorian Can Recycling program.
