'Life changing' – what 50 years of community-controlled housing at Yumba-Meta tells us about home and health
- Written by Jessa Rogers, First Nations Senior Research Fellow, Queensland University of Technology
How does having a safe, reliable place to call “home” affect the health of people and communities across generations? We spoke to staff and families at Yumba-Meta Ltd[1] in Townsville, Queensland to find out.
Yumba-Meta is a community-controlled organisation that has delivered comprehensive support programs[2] for 50 years to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This includes short-term accommodation, such as for people experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, or people at risk of incarceration due to intoxication. Medium to long-term housing options include community home ownership[3], seniors’ housing, and transitional housing to facilitate employment, education or to break the cycle of addiction[4].
Our collaborative research project with Yumba-Meta, which will be released mid-year for Yumba-Meta’s 50th anniversary, explores the power of home[5] and how services can support intergenerational wellbeing[6].
Read more: Treatment for drug and alcohol misuse should involve families and communities[7]
What we did
We interviewed Yumba-Meta staff and used yarning[8] and photoyarning[9] with Yumba-Meta residents and Elders to hear about the history and evolution of Yumba-Meta. Photoyarning draws on Indigenous storying and conversation. Photographs are used as both prompts and a way for participants to share their thoughts and ideas.
One staff member described the generational change[10] she has seen at Yumba-Meta over time:
[…] young kids, they see you’ve got a home, Mum or Dad, or both […] being able to […] improve their lives […] then those kids are the next ones. The importance of education, the importance of having a job. We do see that […] someone who’s been chronic homeless for ten years and then is able to sustain a tenancy, that’s when changes it for some of their families to go, “oh, I think I might be able to do that too!” You do see it. That’s a long process…before you actually see that happening, I think.“
Yumba-Meta has grown from managing eight houses, to now managing[11] over 203 tenancies. This includes homes under the employment and education program[12], supported accommodation[13], women’s shelters[14] and diversionary places[15]. Yumba-Meta has also developed a housing estate, Hillside Gardens[16] with 41 privately-owned lots.
Read more: First Nations children are still being removed at disproportionate rates. Cultural assumptions about parenting need to change[17]
Safe at home
Our research found a sense of pride is instilled when families and individuals have a home – somewhere grandchildren can visit, a place where young people can learn from Elders, and a safe place to go[18].
We found health improves over time with safe and affordable housing[19], especially for older generations who have struggled in the past with housing issues such as chronic overcrowding, and racism[20] that prevents Indigenous people renting and purchasing homes in Townsville.
Those we spoke with talked of a "new normal” being conveyed to children. Young people saw that having their own bed[21] and homes with less people[22] allowed better sleep and space for learning and study. Reliable sanitation[23] practices and facilities (including bathrooms and toilets) along with healthy and sufficient nutrition had direct health benefits.
Overcrowded housing has been linked[24] to chronic eye and ear infections, skin problems, gastroenteritis, respiratory infections, exacerbation of family violence and mental health issues.
Read more: First Nations mothers are more likely to die during childbirth. More First Nations midwives could close this gap[25]
Before and after
One interviewee said sustainable housing was transformative for families.
Seeing […] people coming from the park and getting into house, like, the pride they have in there […] it’s life changing for them […] and they say, ‘Oh, my grandkids are coming over on the week’, their faces are lit up like this [smiling]
For residents who had experienced homelessness and addiction, having a safe and affordable home was spoken of as a major achievement. Descriptions of life living rough[26] with little ability to eat healthy food[27] were juxtaposed with their new life in a stable home: having food in the fridge and cupboard, and making good personal choices.
These yarns showed the impact organisations like Yumba-Meta can have, by providing supports on multiple fronts while people heal and make positive changes[28] in their lives.
A bit of money I made […] to buy more, more stuff for my little place […] to do it up, and I take pride in my place […] Furniture you know, and things that are needed. A bed and washing machine, and fridge and all that sort of stuff and few other things to brighten my place up, you know […] and I got ornaments, you know […] and make it comfortable for me. That I call ‘home’.
Participant photoyarning with Dr Rogers (author), sharing memories of her Yumba-Meta home.
Author provided
What ‘home’ means
So, “home” was about physical resources: access to washing, showers, toilets, health care providers, medicines and opportunities to remain sober[29] and access healthy food. But it was also spiritual[30]: feeling connected, strong in spirit, good about one’s self. It fulfilled emotional needs with space to grieve loss, talk about feelings, heal from relationship breakdown and domestic violence[31], pass on culture and stories and a place to hold photos of family and ancestors.
Home was described as somewhere family can be raised with continuity and stability, where children do not need to move schools[32] all the time and where neighbours become friends. These things might be taken for granted in other communities, but previously for Yumba-Meta residents, this stability was often out of reach.
Yumba-Meta continues to have a lasting positive impact on the Townsville community, through provision of safe, secure and affordable housing and “wrap-around” services. Support for community-controlled housing like Yumba-Meta will help more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families remain strong and connected, through improved intergenerational wellbeing.
References
- ^ Yumba-Meta Ltd (yumba-meta.com.au)
- ^ programs (bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com)
- ^ home ownership (iba.gov.au)
- ^ break the cycle of addiction (www.samhsa.gov)
- ^ home (www.aihw.gov.au)
- ^ wellbeing (www.aihw.gov.au)
- ^ Treatment for drug and alcohol misuse should involve families and communities (theconversation.com)
- ^ yarning (espace.curtin.edu.au)
- ^ photoyarning (eprints.qut.edu.au)
- ^ generational change (nacchocommunique.com)
- ^ now managing (yumba-meta.com.au)
- ^ employment and education program (yumba-meta.com.au)
- ^ supported accommodation (yumba-meta.com.au)
- ^ women’s shelters (yumba-meta.com.au)
- ^ diversionary places (yumba-meta.com.au)
- ^ Hillside Gardens (yumba-meta.com.au)
- ^ First Nations children are still being removed at disproportionate rates. Cultural assumptions about parenting need to change (theconversation.com)
- ^ safe place to go (www.abc.net.au)
- ^ safe and affordable housing (aifs.gov.au)
- ^ racism (www.tandfonline.com)
- ^ own bed (www.aihw.gov.au)
- ^ homes with less people (nirs.org.au)
- ^ sanitation (pursuit.unimelb.edu.au)
- ^ linked (www1.racgp.org.au)
- ^ First Nations mothers are more likely to die during childbirth. More First Nations midwives could close this gap (theconversation.com)
- ^ rough (equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com)
- ^ eat healthy food (www.sbs.com.au)
- ^ positive changes (www.tandfonline.com)
- ^ remain sober (www.homelesshub.ca)
- ^ spiritual (www.indigenousmhspc.gov.au)
- ^ domestic violence (chp.org.au)
- ^ schools (jamanetwork.com)
