Monthly Archives: January 2019
Inside Melbourne’s Ross House, a heritage building filled with charitable souls
ABC Radio Melbourne
Posted
There’s a five-storey building in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane that’s known as Ross House.
You may have seen the 119-year-old red brick tower tucked alongside the city library, close to the cafe-laden laneway of Degraves Street.
It’s prime CBD real estate.
But behind the heritage-listed facade is a unique community working to create a better future for society’s most marginalised people.
Ross House is the only self-managed and community-owned not-for-profit building in Australia.
There’s no landlord. No external owner.
General manager Michael Griffiths said it belonged to the community, so they made the rules.
“In essence, the tenants can set their own rent which is why it’s so unique,” he said.
“Rents are actually on a sliding scale, so we charge people what they can afford rather than what we can make.”
A part of Melbourne’s history
Ross House was built in 1899 and began its life as a textile warehouse.
It was erected by merchant Sir Frederick Sargood, who commissioned and first lived in the famous Rippon Lea mansion in Elsternwick.
The building, then known as Royston House, was bought by the State Electricity Commission in 1929 and then sold to the RE Ross Trust in 1985.
Ross House Association chair Christine McAuslan, from the Collective of Self Help Groups, said the building’s not-for-profit status evolved during a period when community services were fighting for their survival.
“The Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS) had a lot to do with setting this up, and a lot of activists were involved back in the ’80s,” she said.
“There will always be people working towards social equality and overcoming disadvantage.”
She said Ross House was not luxurious, but what it lacked in style it made up for in goodwill.
“The work that people do here is fantastic because it takes a lot of commitment and dedication.
“It’s not glamourous, we don’t have luxurious facilities, but people love being here.”
The 55 tenants are made up of disability, environment, health, social justice, multicultural and other groups.
There’s a similar number of members who use the facilities on occasion; many of them are on the waiting list for a permanent tenancy.
Were it not for Ross House, many of these groups would likely be run out of people’s living rooms or struggle to pay market rent.
But this location, close to public transport and in the heart of the vibrant CBD, allows these small groups to be part of something bigger, all the while secure in the knowledge that the lights won’t go out.
Let’s meet some of them.
Kate Greenwood, Assisi Aid Projects
“We work on community development projects in India and Cambodia with a strong focus on women’s empowerment and gender equality projects.
“[One example is] we work with widows and vulnerable women in Tamil Nadu, which is a very conservative area of India.
“Due to widespread alcoholism, lots of men are dying young and there’s so many widows being left behind.
“Not only do they find themselves widowed, and then obviously also in poverty because they lose their livelihood, but also they’re socially isolated and shunned.
“We do a lot of work with women to bring them together into self-help groups at the village level. Then our partners provide them with skills training and legal literacy so they can actually apply for their widow’s pension and the benefits they’re entitled to.”
Sheryl Forrester, Shine for Kids
“Shine for Kids is the only national organisation that supports children who have parents that are incarcerated.
“We provide supported transport for children to actually visit their parents in prison, we run school holiday camps … we work in schools, we also run art therapy classes.
“There’s so many stories I could tell you about how these children have been involved in the crimes their parents have committed.
“They’ve seen firsthand the effects of ice and how it destroys a family. They’ve seen lots of violence.
“They’re fairly resilient kids but they really do need someone that they can trust and support and that’s what we try and provide for them.
“It’s very, very important that we encourage and support these children so that they do not become the next generation of prisoners.”
Jane Rosengrave, Reinforce
“Reinforce is a self-advocacy group which is for people with an intellectual disability.
“They have actually been running since the 1980s when the institutions were open. They were telling the government to do the right thing for people with a disability and trying to close those institutions down — in those days when they never listened.
“The one thing that I would like to get across to people … is that us [people with a] disability, we are not a number, we are a person and we have got a strong, powerful self-advocacy and we can stand up for ourselves.
“We’ve got that voice to be heard and we do not demand and have people talking for us like those olden days … we do not want to be neglected, we want to be listened to.”
Deb Carveth, Community Music Victoria
“Community Music Victoria exists to get music making happening in our communities as a way to bring people together, strengthen the fabric of society and give people an opportunity to explore a side of themselves that we believe everybody should have access to.
“When people make music together magic happens, relationships form, there’s cohesion.
“It’s incredibly important to us to be part of the Ross House community.
“Everybody here is working towards positive societal change through advocacy, through self-help and it’s a great pooling of resources.
“It’s really heart-warming to walk through those doors in such a busy, vibrant part of Melbourne and to enter the environment that Ross House supports and enables.”
Dabessa Gemelal, Advocacy for Oromia
“There is Oromo people in Ethiopia who are subjugated for a long time because of their identity. The people came here [to Australia] mainly because of political reasons.
“When people moved from their own land, basically there are a lot of issues: dislocation, identity, family breakdown and trauma from the journeys they came here.
“This group was organised actually to support each other.
“When they come to our office we provide free services in all ranges of community activities.
“Sometimes we organise cultural activities which empower them. It looks like a small [thing] but it is an important ingredient to empower people.
“Ross House is actually good for us … we are a non-profit organisation based on some small grants from the embassy and members’ donations. We don’t have enough money to hire a big city office.”
Dr Heidi Nicholl, Emerge Australia
“We work with people who have myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome.
“About 25 per cent of people with the condition are so severely unwell that they’re housebound or bedbound.
“The stigma for this disease has been very profoundly problematic for this community.
“Historically people have not been believed, they have had problems getting the sympathy they should have, not just from family but from medical professionals.
“There’s not enough treatments, and then they haven’t really had enough hope that things are actually being researched and that people care enough about this to find therapies or a cure.”
Beryl Noonan, Melbourne Osteoporosis Support Group
“Our purpose is to support members who have osteoporosis.
“Osteoporosis causes the bone to become thin, just like a honeycomb.
“Younger people can develop this condition — it is not a symptom only of an older person.
“I’ve got osteoporosis and I’ve had it for over 20 years. They [the group] do a good job because they give you extra information and give you tips and we have speakers.
“The camaraderie is good.”
Topics: community-and-society, charities-and-community-organisations, community-organisations, disabilities, multiculturalism, people,children, family-and-children, women, womens-health, osteoporosis, chronic-fatigue-syndrome, diseases-and-disorders,human-interest, melbourne-3000
2018: we took a step closer to actualising our dream of freedom
By Bonsen D Wakjira
Hello everyone, my name is Bonsen and I want to welcome you to 2019’s Oromo Festival. Before we begin, I want to acknowledge the traditional and true custodians of this land and pay my respects to their elders past and present, and remind all of us here that sovereignty was never ceded. I also want to pay my respects to our dead, and remember their legacies, sacrifices and lives.
Bonsen D Wakjira gave speech at Oromia @ Federation Square on 7th of January 2019
This speech is many things, it is a call for solidarity and unity. We are different in so many ways, and to me, being Oromo is about acknowledging our differences and understanding that we are strong because of our differences, because our respective experiences and beliefs provide perspectives to our journey towards freedom that we wouldn’t get anywhere else. Difference has been used against so many people, but our differences should not be the death of us. Our differences give us strength and wisdom, and we should, and must address these differences with kindness and respect because that is the only way our goal of freedom can be actualised. To quote the great Audre Lorde, “We share a common interest, survival, and it cannot be pursued in isolation from others simply because their differences make us uncomfortable”, and this is the energy I’m claiming for us 2019 and beyond.
This speech is about community. We are a very communal people, as far as I know, we’ve organised our societies by centring community and have done an amazing job of doing so in a country that favours and encourages individualism. For diasporic youth who face so much pressure to assimilate and adapt, we have done an amazing job of being unapologetically Oromo and unwavering in our Oromo identity, and seek solace in our people and our community, and that’s one of the most beautiful things about us as a people.
2018 was a big year for us. We took a step closer to actualising our dream of freedom, so many people went back home and got to experience their country to the fullest extent and we saw that perseverance comes through. But that doesn’t mean our fight is over, if anything, it means we have to keep fighting, keep organising with Oromo folks, reach out to those who can and want to help, Oromo or not, and correct those misinformed about our purpose, we all have a role to play, whether it be a role in raising awareness, or educating, or learning and claiming your cultural roots. These are all important roles in achieving self-determination and fighting forces that kill our people and steal our land. Freedom cannot be given to us, nor can governments and political leaders give us the right to self-determination. We must take these ourselves, and we can only do so when we recognise our strengths, both as individuals and as a community, and fight relentlessly and unwaveringly for our country.
Thank you for listening, and I hope y’all have a good time.
Oromia: Advocacy for Oromia requests urgent intervention to uphold the rights of Oromos in Oromia
(Advocacy for Oromia, 10 January 2019) Advocacy for Oromia, a non-profit advocacy organisation working to ensure that the Oromo people’s rights and wishes are respected, is highly concerned at the intimidation, the violence and the wave of arrests that have taken place during the week end in Oromia.
Advocacy for Oromia understands the security concerns of the regional and the Federal Government and the steps taken to protect the people who live in the country. The Ethiopian military established a buffer zone in Moyale town and deployed a large number of military forces in western Oromia. However, we have been informed that several innocents individuals are arrested and held at various camps and stations in a very harsh and poor condition.
The brave Chaltu Takele and other people have reportedly been detained in the town of Shambu, Oromia, on January 8, 2018. Chaltu was imprisoned by the TPLF regime multiple times, for several years over all, for having legitimately resisted the tyrannical rules of TPLF.
Furthermore, the door to door operation has involved breaking the houses of more than 500 Oromo women, elders and youth from Naqamte, Gimbi, Najjo, Dambi Dollo, Begi, and Mandi, beating them up cold-heartedly, and treating them in heartless manner and robbing their properties. However, none of the government bodies have initiated any inquiry into the matter which continues to violate human rights.
Advocacy for Oromia believes that such widespread human rights violations perpetuated against the people are one of the major contributing factors that have been destabilizing the peace of the region. Advocacy for Oromia, therefore, requests the urgent intervention to ensure that the law enforcement agencies and military forces to uphold the rights of all those arrested and to treat them in a humane and non-discriminatory manner.
Advocacy for Oromia also requests the Ethiopian government to immediately stop this recurring abuse of Oromos and release those detained, return their robbed properties and provide them the protection they deserve. The officers involved must also be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of national and international law and orders.
Advocacy for Oromia further requests the government to unconditional release and ensure that their cases proceed in a manner consistent with Ethiopia’s obligations under international law, in particular internationally recognized standards of due process, fair trial, and free expression; and to ensure their well-being while in custody, including access to legal counsel and family.
Advocacy for Oromia
For the PDF format: press letter
Advocacy for Oromia 