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About us

Haven; Home, Safe is Australia’s only integrated affordable rental housing and homelessness services provider. We are a for-purpose organisation.

We are a for-purpose company, with our roots established 40 years ago in Bendigo. Through our relentless commitment to help and house more of the most vulnerable people in our community, we have achieved 24 years of continuous growth, became the first Victorian Registered Housing Association, and have developed our network of offices across the state to connect with housing options and integrated supports.

We now offer a variety of housing and support services to people in housing crisis across 29 Local Government Areas in Victoria, stretching through the regions from Mildura to Frankston, Warrnambool to Wodonga, including the metro areas in the North Eastern suburbs of Melbourne and down through Geelong.

Through our breadth of locations, quality and variety of our houses we strive to offer our tenants homes that they can be proud of in locations that meet their needs and in communities they feel welcome.

In short, we strive to change the trajectory of people’s lives.

Our Purpose

In a world where homelessness and housing crisis exist, we connect people with housing options and integrated supports so that they can find and keep a place to call home.

Our values

Respect
Listen
Collaborate

We put people first, especially our clients.

Innovation
Challenge
Learning

We do things differently to get the best results.

Accountability
Responsibility
Integrity

We do what we say and always make a difference.

Our strategic goals and priorities

A range of sustainable housing outcomes for people who are homeless or in housing crisis.

Advocacy and support for our diverse clientele with a particular focus on developing
life skills and individual capacity

Relationships with government, community and commercial partners and other key
stakeholders to achieve
our Purpose.

Resources, infrastructure and financial capacity of the organisation to achieve our Purpose.

Our History

Follow our journey of success and support.

1993

Ken Marchingo Hired

The organisation was in a parlous state. The Ministry of Housing had written to the committee advising them that their funding was to be cancelled if certain changes were not made. The committee hires Ken Marchingo as housing officer to start on 17 January 1994. Funding was provided in six-monthly increments until the department was satisfied with the financial state of the organisation.

1994

Organisation re-named as Bendigo Emergency Housing

Organisation changed its name to Bendigo Emergency Housing from BUEARC. It was chosen because it said what we did and where we did it. It had an implicit challenge in the name.

1995

Winning Supported Accommodation Assistance Program tender

The organisation won the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) tender from a large national provider and began developing an integrated housing and homelessness service model.

1996

Social enterprise repay debts

Most of the former BUEARC’s debts were repaid via a variety of social enterprise activities over the two prior years.

1997

LMHS wins Regional Housing Assistance program

LMHS auspiced the Loddon Campaspe Regional Housing Program and won the regional housing assistance program, and set up both as their own entities. The LCRHC became, what is now known as Housing Justice, a community legal service.

1997

Loddon Mallee Housing Services Limited is created

The CEO changed BEH’s status from an incorporated association to a company limited by guarantee, so that it could enshrine proper governance into the future. Loddon Mallee Housing Services Limited ( LMHS) was created.

About us