Community grant backs push for social housing concepts

SUSTAINABILITY Mansfield is among 17 community organisations to recently receive a grant from the $36,000 the Garry Nash & Co Community fund, to come up with greater energy efficient social housing in the North East. Secretary of Sustainability Mansfield, Ed Adamson, said the $1000 grant will help support efforts to provide more social housing for those in need that live in North East regional areas from both a housing and sustainability perspective. "From our discussions with sustainability organisations in the region we realised we've got big problems that aren't being solved for housing," he said. "Particularly for seasonal workers and also for social housing, which doesn't seem to be addressed in some of our country towns. "Also the environmental side of things, we want to see housing that's energy efficient as well" Mr Adamson said Sustainability Mansfield had been liaising with likeminded groups in other North East municipalities and it wants to come up with energy efficient concepts for social housing that can be presented to councils and developers. "What we've committed to do is come up with five concepts of accommodation in towns that can be erected over carparks for instance," he said. "We also committed to creating another five concepts that can be provided for seasonal workers and that might be cluster typed housing or tiny housing on rural or semi–rural reserved living." Mr Adamson said he thinks the Garry Nash & Co community fund is a great initiative and he'd like to see more companies make contributions like this to the community. "It's great to see people and companies put something back into the community," he said. "I'd like to see more corporations stepping up to the plate and private investors stepping up to the plate because I think there's a lot we can." For more information or to donate to the Garry Nash & Co Community fund – which is a sub–fund of the Into Our Hands Community Foundation – call (03) 5722 2663 or visit https://intoourhandsfoundation.com.au/fund/garry–nash–co–community–fund/.