Financial Wellbeing Hub update
23 May 2019
Wunan’s Financial Wellbeing Hub and Housing Services have started 2019 on a positive note, rolling out the new emergency relief and material aid program, aimed at assisting people in financial crisis who are in vulnerable situations and cannot pay their bills.
Wunan support services are receiving a high number of clients through agency referrals.
Wunan programs are building strong partnerships with Kununurra District High School and St Joseph’s Primary School to promote and encourage school attendance and embedding early learning through basic financial education into the schools which will benefit school children later in life.
Wunan has established a good relationship with the community and people who access the support service to build their financial capability and resilience.
Our partnership with First Nation Foundation will see the East Kimberley’s first Big Super Day Out event, scheduled to be held in Kununurra on 16th July 2019 at Whitegum Park. The Big Super Day Out will be a family fun day focussing on helping Aboriginal people facing a range of issues, including sorting out connections to the ATO, gathering ID and any other superannuation queries.
Due to lack of public housing and the current length of waitlists for social housing, housing programs are seeing a movement away from social housing and an increase in Aboriginal people moving towards Transitional Housing and beginning their own pathway to home ownership.
The Financial Wellbeing Hub is finding that the barrier which is affecting candidates’ readiness to start the expression of interest process for IBA is the individuals’ credit ratings. The Financial Counsellor works closely with the applicant to develop a plan to manage debts and decrease their debt ratio to build their capacity to manage their finances and prepare them for their Expression of Interest to purchase their home.
The Financial Counsellor provides education sessions around;
- Credit;
- Credit reports in the past;
- Credit ratings and;
- How these affect clients long term, particularly if clients have acquired and made numerous credit enquiries
Through the Financial Wellbeing Hub, we have had numerous clients achieve their goals and make a step forward in attitude and behavioural change with money.
It is imperative agencies and organisations work together to build capability and better position Aboriginal people to accept opportunities to create their own pathways to independence and homeownership.
The Financial Wellbeing Hub is also delivering Financial Literacy Workshops in Wyndham at the EKJP office. These sessions are looking promising and there are future plans to deliver at other locations, such as the Wyndham Workcamp, Kalumburu Strong Women’s Centre, EKJP CPC and Kununurra District High School.
Wunan has also successfully applied for an extension of the Pipeline Program for an additional year, and been successful in applying for funding from Financial Literacy Australia to deliver a financial literacy project into the Wyndham Workcamp to build inmates’ skills and knowledge to help them manage their finances when they are released.