A Place to Call Home
28 September 2016
Wunan’s Pathway to Home Ownership program has taken off, with five local Aboriginal families having purchased their own homes since it commenced.
Several other families have had their loan applications approved and are now viewing properties for sale, while others are awaiting approval of their applications.
This is particularly significant when you consider that home ownership among Aboriginal people in the East Kimberley is extremely low. So low, in fact, that most Aboriginal people in the region would never even have considered it an option for them.
But this program aims to change all that. And there have been some fantastic outcomes, with one client telling staff: “Our family is over the moon and so excited about buying a home. A big thank you for making this dream come true!”
Another sent an email to Wunan on the day she was to move in: “My property settles today at 2.15pm. Woop, Woop!! Thank you Wunan!”
The Indigenous Home Ownership Education (IHOME) package, designed by the Department of Social Security and Indigenous Business Australia, is provided along with financial literacy education to improve financial capacity and encourage greater self-reliance, assisting people to build assets, develop savings and begin on the pathway to financial inclusion.