S.H.A.C

SHAC Eviction: Dinner and Camp Out at Melbourne Uni tonight!!

2009-01-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

At 6am this morning the students residing at 272-278 Faraday st were evicted by 30 police offices without notice.

At the time of writing SHAC residents are being moved out by private security guards.

Tonight, Tuesday 14th January, a dinner and sleep out will take place. Meet outside 272-278 Faraday street at 6pm.

More details of the eviction, watch here.

Clarifications

2009-01-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

Hello all! Just a quick post. SHAC are not adverse to criticism or suggestion – in fact we think it is a really important part of SHAC and the process we’re engaging in. New ideas and different perspectives help the campaign grow and prosper.
However because we at SHAC love clarifications (though not as much as we love affordable housing) we just want to make a few in response to some of the feedback we’ve been getting. It’s not a question of right or wrong – we just want to make sure our actions and message are as clearly represented as possible.

That our call for students to come and support us whilst we’re facing eviction is a threat of violent protest.

It definitely isn’t. We are totally adverse to any violence going down. Most of our resistance involves supporters coming down just to say hello or let us know they are in solidarity with us. We’re hanging out and sleeping out in front of the house trying to create a human chain to symbolise the fact that we don’t think the eviction should occur – nor do we want it to. We’ve kept open channels of communication with the Sheriffs office about when they plan to arrive to evict and we’re trying to keep everyone posted with all the information we have. We DO NOT want this to get violent and HAVE NO PLANS for it to be. It is a peaceful resistance. Any supporters coming down DO NOT HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF VIOLENCE.

That all we want is three house in Carlton just for us.

No! Our hope has always been that the University would adopt the co-op model for wider use. We think it is a great and sustainable way for housing to be provided to low income students. What we want from the Faraday Street house is for it to be used as an example of the co-op model. We’ve had to focus on the house because asking the University to fund a co-op housing project for 500 seemed… well, unlikely to happen. I guess you could say we’ve tried to start small. Seeing as the University couldn’t even agree to a trial on the scale of 20 students, it seems our thinking was maybe correct. The reason we have the eligibility criteria and the reason we’re always running community events and inviting people to SHAC is because we want it to be open for all who need it - not just those who are there now. We want for all to get involved and for people who are low income students to move into. Not just for the viability of the project but because that is what the point of SHAC is – the Faraday St house, the campaign, everything - it's about providing housing and community to those who might not have it, those who most need it. We tried to use the Faraday Street houses to make a statement and as a tool to get the University to examine the co-op model and hopefully implement it widely. If you have a look at the presentation we made the University it talks about how the co-op widely is widely and successfully used in the U.S.A. - that is the kind of thing we'd like to see here.

That there is a limited pool of money, and using this on such a high cost per student scheme is not in any way sensible.

This is a completely reasonable point. We just want to clarify that we think there shouldn’t be a limited pool of money. The University of Melbourn has A LOT of money (just think how much they’ve spent on advertising last year alone). We want them to invest more in student housing. We’re totally opposed to the fact that the University’s proposal to us involved re-routing money from projects already in place rather than actually investing more in student housing and more in the co-op model. Nonetheless if we did this using the buildings the University has or some capital investment and the structures SHAC have put in place, housing for students that isn’t really expensive could be provided with the University recouping their costs pretty quickly. It’s part of the whole system of SHAC that investment by the University would be paid off long term. Check out the way STUCCO in Sydney works for a better idea of this. Basically - they invest in building(s) for student housing, we repay the debt, the University doesn't lose any money in the end, students have somewhere to live. The approach of the University - acting as gurantor on students renting from the private rental market - is far less economically viable.

We knocked back the University’s offer.

We didn’t. We had concerns about some elements of their proposal and wanted to continue discussing and negotiating further. It was the University who chose to not do this and instead take us to court and force an eviction order. The University chose to not move forward and shut us down. Not us.

Hopefully this will clear some things up. Keep coming back here to check on our status and what we're up to. Any questions, criticisms or messages of support are always welcome.

Footage of Emergency Rally Mon 7th Jan

2009-01-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=N-ctQdLGiqw

Update on Eviction

2009-01-08T00:34:00.000-08:00

After receiving conflicting information from police on Wednesday 7th January, the SHAC house is still occupied and no eviction has taken place.

Thanks to all supporters who came down to support the emergency rally.

Despite efforts to keep open the lines of communication with police, a decision could be taken for them to act at any time. We are asking our supporters to be on standby at short notice to come down and support a resistance to the eviction.

Court Update & Rally

2009-01-06T05:08:00.000-08:00

Emergency Rally
12 noon
Wednesday 7th Jan
SHAC - 272 Faraday St Carlton

Update: On Monday 5th January, Melbourne University was granted permission by the Supreme Court to apply for a warrant to reclaim 272 Faraday St Carlton, the site of the Student Housing Action Collective (SHAC) occupation. Homeless students from Melbourne University have been running a successful housing cooperative at SHAC since 20 August 2008.

SHAC were in negotiations with the University until Thursday 18th December when the University presented a bogus offer to the students, gave them 45 minutes to sign on the dotted line, then preceded to place five private security guards outside the premises. The students refused to negotiate under conditions of duress, but made a counter offer in the following days.

The contents of the University's "offer" was that the University would pay the bond and be the guarantor for four or five share houses for a period of twelve months. The houses would have run according to SHAC's cooperative principles. SHAC would select appropriate students who would then be referred to the University's low income test and the University would subsidise the rent of these students.

The problem with this offer was that the Uni had made no commitment to funding any new subsidised places from their existing rental subsidy scheme. In effect, the students selected for the "SHAC share houses" would have been taking the places of other students who fit the Uni's low income criteria. The Uni already has a small amount of properties to house students on low incomes with slightly subsidised rent (approximately $100 per week). The SHAC students could not accept this offer in good conscience. It begs the question: what was the Uni planning to do with these properties if the subsidised students were to shift from University owned houses to share houses from the private rental market? Would the Uni have used the SHAC scheme to make their own properties vacant in order to sell them?

SHAC received notification on Friday 19th December that the Uni intended to seek a warrant for the recovery of land from the Supreme Court on Tuesday 23rd December. The students won an adjournment, with the Supreme Court Judge stating he wanted to hear about how the SHAC case relates to the new Victorian Human Rights Charter, which includes the right to housing.

Over the Christmas and New Year period, SHAC received legal advice from Barristers provided by the Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH). The students were unable to commit to the legal process, based on the strong likelihood that the University's legal costs (in excess of $20,000) would be awarded against them. So the SHAC students made the difficult decision not to engage with the legal process but are now preparing to resist an eviction.

SHAC is calling on their supporters to be on call to support eviction resistance. The Uni has given the final deadline of 12 noon tomorrow (Wednesday 7th January), however the Uni have not yet served a warrant on the students. It is believed that a warrant may be served sometime this week.

The students involved in the occupation are still hopeful of a positive outcome based on the amount of public awareness raised by the occupation, and the political pressure put on the University.

Victorian Trades Hall Council Secretary Brian Boyd has stated publicly that the Trades Hall Building Industry Group would take appropriate industrial action in the event of a forced eviction. This means that SHAC's fight for more affordable student housing is far from over!!

SHAC goes to court.

2008-12-18T23:39:00.000-08:00

On Thursday the occupiers of SHAC were served with notice that the University has gone to the Supreme Court to 'recover the land' at 272-278 Faraday Streed (under Order 53).

The hearing will take place on Monday morning.

Please come to a protest out the front of the court from 9.30 am. The hearing starts at 10.30am if you want come into the court.

Bring banners, placards and colour!

SHAC will be seeking an adjournment of this hearing so there is a chance it will be delayed. The protest will go ahead regardless.

SHAC - University Correspondence

2008-12-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines...

2008-12-11T02:55:00.000-08:00

Today Melbourne University effectively stalemated any negotiation efforts between SHAC and the Uni by sticking to the deadline of 5pm. So we are again in the situation of the negotiations being stalled by repeated eviction notices with 24-hour deadlines.

The University did not give us adequate time to respond to their offer. Last week they delivered a letter that showed their intention to engage with SHAC and gave us 24 hours to respond. We did so (within the allotted time frame). Then they then provided us with a draft proposition on Tuesday night. We had a meeting with Adrian Burrage – from the University – on Wednesday and discussed amendments. We were then provided with an updated proposal at 2pm this afternoon, which went to the SHAC collective for discussion. A few hours’ later security guards showed up to assist us in vacating!

Thus SHAC have, in effect, been forced to reject the deal as it stands.

Our hope has always been to work WITH the Uni rather than against them. Part of this is both SHAC and the Uni having an input into the way forward, discussing options and ideas, compromising. We want to find a solution that benefits low income students but that is also feasible for the University - though we do believe SHAC is both these things.

SHAC holds reservations about elements of the proposal as it stands and we want to discuss these concerns and find answers that all involved feel comfortable with. If the University stopped insisting on announcing eviction orders we might be able to advance the negotiations rather than be constantly caught in stand-offs over property. We have agreed to vacate the property when a mutually satisfactory proposal is settled upon. We feel this is a sign of good faith by SHAC and displays our readiness to compromise. Yet they still insist on these eviction orders!!! If they only resisted this urge we really could arrive at a resolution far more quickly…

We are disappointed that what had appeared to be an willingness by the Uni to engage was really just a sneaky attempt to shut us up - as shown by the enforcing of the deadline and the reluctance to continue with the necessary negotiations.

As such we're taking a stand and refusing to hand in our keys until they come back to the discussion table ready to work with us.

Unfortunately this means we now (again) are in an eviction situation. We have assurances that police and security will not be coming tonight but please be on alert, we may need to call on you to come to SHAC at very short notice.

If you want to help defend SHAC from eviction you are welcome to come sleep over in our dorms (please bring your own bedding - we have some mats but a pillow and sleeping bag would be a good idea.)

No Freeway 4 West Footscray

2008-12-10T06:34:00.000-08:00

We got this note on the SHAC facebook group from Natalie. Thought I would pop it up here!

The SHAC campaign has been inspiring to many activists including me. Forced evictions are inhumane, especially in the current economic climate. You may be aware of another campaign that has blown up this week; the campaign against compulsory acquisitions of people's homes in West Footscray in order to build a tunnel and truck route.

The details of our meeting are:

7.30PM WED 17TH DECEMBER
BLUESTONE CHURCH
Hyde St Footscray (Next to Maribyrnong Council)

We would love all our supporters to help us make this meeting a success.

No More Roads! No Compulsory Acquisitions!

Regards

Natalie
No Freeway 4 West Footscray

Good News!

2008-12-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

The university now wants to negotiate and will not forcibly SHAC today as planned!

We still need your support - it's the reason SHAC is still going - and will keep you updated.

Don't forget we're still an open house for people to drop by! So come have a meal or come to a meeting and add your voice to the campaign!

This is really exciting stuff everyone! If we can negotiate in a positive manner with the University it will mean that there is a house available for 25 previously homeless students! Plus it will put us in a position to work with the Uni in the future to set up more student run housing co-operative in larger or different spaces.

We think student run/student used housing co-operatives are by far the best way for housing to be provided to students, particularly those of a low income or who were previously homeless. It empowers them to take an interest and pride in their living space, builds community and support networks and also results in the learning and sharing of new skills and abilities. It means the University doesn't have to take on more administration whilst supporting homeless students and cuts out the landlord/tenant hierarchy - which means more people feel empowered and involved in their community and lives.

The University has lots of empty buildings around the place that could be renovated into housing and if not we always have the support of outside organisations and the community to find buildings in the outer suburbs that could be converted. I mention this because I think some people think we just want to live in trendy Carlton. NO! We're not that attached to a latte on Lygon Street! We're only in the building because it is owned by Melbourne Uni and we wanted to make sure they were paying attention. Plus we thought it was pretty interesting that Glyn Davis - the vice chancellor - was talking about homeless students when Melbourne Uni had empty buildings (and this one had been empty for three years with no plans for it).

Thanks again to everyone for all the support they are showing us - we really appreciate it!

Final Eviction Notice

2008-12-02T03:01:00.001-08:00

After our highly successful rally and continued community support and solidarity, SHAC has now received a final eviction notice.

The University has stated that SHAC must vacate by 5PM tomorrow, Wednesday 3rd December, or action will be taken to vacate the property.

Come down tomorrow at 4PM for a free dinner out the front of SHAC to show your support!

For those who are keen to stay around, SHAC will be holding a collective meeting and then a slumber party after dinner.

Spread the word, come enjoy a free meal and support affordable student housing!

4PM WEDNESDAY 3RD DECEMBER - 272-278 FARADAY ST, CARLTON.

2008-11-27T00:18:00.000-08:00

So it's been a big week for SHAC.

On Tuesday we received a letter from Chris White from the University requesting that we vacate the premises by 5 pm on November 28th.

Today we are in The Age!!!

We've also had Brian Boyd from the Victorian Trades Hall Council write a letter to Glyn Davis (Melbourne Uni Vice Chancellor) threatening industrial action on university construction works if we're evicted!

So come to the rally, will be super important!

We also want people to stick around afterwards, so come for cooking of dinner at 5, and eating at 6.30!

Rally to Defend SHAC!

2008-11-17T10:50:00.000-08:00

SHAC is facing eviction!

Melbourne Uni have asked us to voluntarily leave on the 28th. We're not planning on going anywhere. Community support has always been the backbone of our campaign and we won't be able to win without it. So come a long and show your support for SHAC and the affordable student housing cause.

Rally out the front of SHAC on Friday, November 28th from 12:00pm - 2:00pm.

Endorsed by UMSU, RMIT SU, NTEU - Melbourne Uni branch, UNITE

SHAC ZINE

2008-11-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

This is a call out for submissions to a SHAC ZINE documenting the first four marvelous months of the co-op!

Want to be a part of it? Get amongst it.

We're looking for articles and writing, pictures and illustrations, arts and your creativity on:

DIY - Stuff we've done around SHAC, skills you've learnt or taught, useful bits and bobs.
How To - Renovations on the cheap and simple, tools and materials you used? How you did it?
Personal Stories - About your experience or details on what went on, what happened, different parts of the actions (we want lots of different perspectives!)
Politics of Squatting.
Recipes of some of the tastes of SHAC - what you've eaten or cooked there (or think should be eaten or cooked there!)
Poetry and the such.
Photos/Illustrations/Art.
History and Timeline of SHAC.
ANYTHING else to do with SHAC you want to write/draw/make that can be photocopied.

28th of November is the close for submissions.

If it's hand-drawn/written drop it into the zine box in the reception of SHAC or email it to shachouse@gmaill.com.

Update...

2008-10-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

Activists at SHAC have been doing an amazing job of doing something a wittle boring, a wittle icky… namely, bureaucratic activism! Hurrah! We prepared a comprehensive document to take to University Council on the 20th of October. Unfortunately someone objected to our paper being tabled. After anxious nights spent carefully translating everything we wished to say into unimelb-bureaucratic-language (think newspeak with grandiose metaphors) we were heartbroken. Luckily we managed to distribute our report amongst council members anyway and the wonderful student representatives on council were able to generate discussion around it.

In a nutshell the report contained a concrete proposal for the feasibility of a low-cost student housing co-operative at 272-278 Faraday St, Carlton. There were building renovation costings, financial models, co-operative social models, proposed income sources, examples of the co-op model operating overseas and locally… In short, we are very bloody serious and the whole project is very, very possible.

But wait this story of wrangling in the posher corridors of Unimelb has another twist (sorry I’m trying to make it as interesting as possible). There was also a report presented under the auspices of the Vice-Chancellor which threatened to de-rail SHAC. Luckily our glorious student reps were able to twist and turn and spice up the VC’s report.

The following motions resulted:

1. A statement of support for student groups seeking to develop student housing co-operatives that are directed towards the needs of low-income students unable to secure housing. (Hopefully this means that they support SHAC…)

2. Introduction of a one-off grant scheme to encourage the establishment of student co-operatives. (In the grand tradition of creating grants that will never be applied for. They are talking to the tune of $3000-5000. not really anything if you haven’t got a building.)

3. Extension of student housing services operation to incorporate advice and information on requirements for the establishment of student housing co-operatives.

4. An examination led by the Vice-principal of Property and Campus Services, the Student Housing Services and interested students into steps the University might take into securing forms of social housing in Northern Melbourne. (Yep, that’s the goodun.)

So we're hoping this fourth motion means a chance for SHAC representatives to further our proposal to convert Faraday St into an affordable housing co-operative.

Stay tuned...

Petition

2008-10-19T23:24:00.001-07:00

Sign Here!

Just in case you haven't already signed it here is the link to the petition. The more people that sign it the better! It only takes half a minute!

A Very Special Play With Your Food...

2008-10-19T02:30:00.001-07:00

Come to SHAC on Monday and enjoy not only a free spread of amazing vegan and vegetarian food and the vibrant atmosphere of SHAC, but hear a report back from University Council and participate in a discussion about the future of SHAC and the different ways that you can be involved.

The Student Housing Action Cooperative (SHAC) are a group of students who have formed together to take action on student housing affordability. As a direct response to the lack of affordable student housing we are currently occupying four double story terrace buildings that have been vacant for three years. The property - situated at 272-8 Faraday Street, Carlton - is owned by Melbourne Uni and we are in negotiations with them to have it turned into a student run housing co-operative.

The success of the SHAC campaign is dependent on the involvement of as many people as possible. On Monday there will be a special info session after Play With Your Food for people looking to get more involved in SHAC, as we cannot stay fresh and vibrant without you! We will also hear a report back about the University's pivotal decision on the use of 272-8 Faraday St and strategise the future of SHAC. Come and inject some much needed fresh blood into the SHAC campaign!

Where: 278 Faraday St Carlton (SHAC).
When: Monday 20th October, cooking from 5:30 and serving from 7pm.

See you there!

Your Support Right Now

2008-10-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

Because of the high profile of the articles published in The Age and due to the fact that a University Council meeting is coming up in the next week we are feeling the heat down at SHAC. It would be really wonderful if as many people as possible could be coming down to SHAC in the day and in the evening and also super wonderful if people could come along and camp out (in super comfortable bedding of course) just so we can all feel a bit more secure should the University decide to call the police on us in the middle of the night. The more people there are around the harder it will be for the University to remove us - which we hope they won't be doing!

News Coverage

2008-10-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday The Age published an article about SHAC in print and two appeared online - with a main page display, photo and tagline. This is great coverage for SHAC and we're excited about what we hope will be heaps more support as result.
Take a look online here:

Diddly Squat

and here:

Carlton uni squat talks stall

Possum Visitor

2008-09-18T11:07:00.001-07:00

Last night one of the possums that lives (or scampers around) in our backyard tree decided to come in and say hello. Unfortunately possums and kitchens at midnight don't go so well... so we had to catch and take him back out to the tree. Needless to say chasing a scared possum around is pretty tough work but we got him out safely in the end with only a minor scratch to the finger of a SHAC housie.

Does anyone want to name our mischievous possum friend?

Wish List

2008-09-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

Paint / paintbrushes
Fire blankets
Smoke alarms
Brooms / rakes
Washing machine(s)
Food
Cooking pots of all sizes
Cushions
Couches
Rugs
Tables
Chairs (indoor and outdoor)
Material for curtains
Pens / markers (permanent and whiteboard) / crayons / chalk
Scrap paper
Vacuum cleaner(s)
Lamps
Tupperware
Toilet brush
Flower pots and/or planters
Monetary donations (for our fire safety fund)
You!

Thanks!

2008-09-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all for your support, solidarity, enthusiasm and love! A special thanks to those of you who came by today for the Melbourne City Council inspection – it's great to know that we can call on our friends at short notice.

For those of you who weren't in the loop, here's a quick update:

Today, building surveyors from Melbourne City Council conducted an inspection of the SHAC house. Some fire fighters and a Melbourne University representative were also there. They were all impressed with the measures we had taken to improve the property's health and safety standards in the little time that we have been living here. But there are still challenges to come - we will keep you posted on the developments and let you know how you can be involved.

In preparation for the inspection, we called people on our contact list and asked them to come down to support us. The place felt like a bustling market – it was great. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, reading, chatting, meeting new people. We even had people practicing their instruments in the chill out room!

It is really important to continue to show the University that we have such solid support. Please come if we call on you again!

And remember we welcome visitors always so make sure you're coming by to use the space in the day or coming to our events in the evening.

If you're not sure whether you're on the contact list, email us (shachouse@gmail.com) with your phone number and we will add you.

Some Day To Day SHAC...

2008-09-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

At SHAC there are two different rooms set up for studying. This one is the downstairs one but we also have another directly above it. Both rooms have desks and chairs set up with lamps for in the evening. If you need a space to do some reading or write your already overdue essay come along to SHAC and set up in one of the studies.

With so many people coming through SHAC everyday and eating there the dishes can quickly pile up! We're all really conscious of making sure the space stays neat and tidy and cleaning up after ourselves. We ask that if you come through you give us a hand by cleaning up after yourself, washing your own dishes or pitching in to help wash up the big pots of food nights.

We at SHAC are very health conscious - particularly when it comes to dental hygiene.

All of our food is either donated or dumpstered. Everything is communal and we take it in turns to cook dinners and clean up. Every Monday night there is Play With Your Food (a free food night, mostly vegan) and on Friday evenings we have Daddy's Cook Up (a run of the mill barbecue, bring your own drinks). All welcome!

At SHAC we have started setting up a garden. We have a great composting system in place and we've started growing our own vegetables. Here are some of the seedlings.

Regular Events

2008-09-10T00:51:00.000-07:00

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Every Monday 5.30 - 9PM
PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD
Every Monday night at the SHAC house we have a free community dinner. Bands come and play, tasty food is cooked up and gobbled down and lots of people come and make new friends or see old ones.

In keeping with our ideas on cooperative living and collective organising we'd love if you came along at 5.30 to help chop up and cook up and stir the pots of taste sensations. It's not a prerequisite for attendance but why not give it a go!?!

Every Tuesday - 8PM
SHAC CINEMATHEQUE
Every Tuesday night SHAC will be hosting a film night extraordinare.

Featuring local films, foreign films, long films, short films, funny films, sad films, fiction films, non-fiction films, political films, bruce willis films... hopefully mostly good films (though we might chuck a bad one in occasionally just for kicks)...

If you have a film you think we should screen let us know. If you would like to have your film screened let us know. If you would like to host the screening let us know. If you want to help us set up (or get involved in the tangling of cords) come along before 7. It would be much appreciated!

EVERYONE IS WELCOME! Think of it as a slumber party without the slumber and without the party but still you know, really fun...

(P.s. Bring your own cushion if you can.)

Every Wednesday - 6PM
SKILLS SHARE
Starting next week SHAC will be hosting weekly skills shares on a range of things. What is a skills share? WHen someone who knows heaps about a topic (whether it be an industry, a computer program, knitting, screen printing, centrelink or more) comes and runs a workshop about it - telling you everything they know and teaching you the practical measures of their knowledge. If you think you might have some skill or skills you'd like to share let us know and you can run one!

Every Friday - 6PM
DADDY'S COOK UP
There is nothing like a great cook up at the end of the week. Every Friday SHAC will be running a big tasty barbecue cook up. There will be heaps of vegan and vegetarian options as well as (we suspect) a hell of a lot of sausages. All are welcome to come by on a Friday eve and kick back with a snack and some friendly people to unwind with... If you want to bring alcohol you can but keep in mind we're not big fans of drunkeness...

Every Saturday - ALL DAY
WORKING BEA AND TEA
Every Saturday our doors will be open all day for people to come and help us out. That means you! Whether it be fixing a hole, scrubbing a wall, sewing curtains or painting pictures to hang and beautify YOU can help (and we'll love you for it).
Many, many cups of tea will be drunk... hell, we'll even make them for you.

What You Can Do...

2008-09-10T00:48:00.000-07:00

Lots of people have been asking what they can do to help us out. Well! If you support our project you can help out in any of the following ways (and it will be much appreciated!):

- Drop by for a chat & a cuppa any day between our ‘opening’ hours 12-6pm. We welcome you & will show you a tour of the space.

- Come to one of our many evening events! The more people using the space the better!

- Donations would be greatly appreciated! Old furniture, washing machine, anything that you are no longer using may be of help to us.

Non-perishable food is of course always helpful.

- Email the “decision makers” of Melbourne University. Tell them of your support for the Student Housing Action Collective:
Peter McPhee the Provost - p.mcphee@unimelb.edu.au
Glyn Davis the Vice-Chancellor - vc@unimelb.edu.au

- Please tell people in the local community, invite them for a visit. This is a diverse and inclusive project, made possible only by plural involvement.

UNIVERSITY REFUSES TO EVICT HOMELESS STUDENTS

2008-09-02T23:08:00.001-07:00

(2nd September 2008)

Last night the University of Melbourne Council acknowledged the lack of affordable student housing and formally requested that the Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis examine co-operative housing as a solution.

The University Council was informed of the activities and plans of the Student Housing Action Co-operative (SHAC). Students from the SHAC Co-operative have been living in vacant terraces owned by the University for the past two weeks. The terraces on Faraday street have been abandoned since 2005 and the University have no current plans for their use.

According to the President of University of Melbourne Postgraduate Association (UMPA), Tammi Jonas, who was present at the council meeting, "The University will undertake an investigation of co-operative student housing to address homelessness amongst students."

SHAC member Liz Turner said, "The SHAC co-operative is taking direct action to address the real need for low cost student housing. We are acting for ourselves and for our fellow students who are in stressful housing situations.

"The students living at Faraday street have been putting the co-operative model into practice for the last two weeks. Students will continue to make Faraday street their home. Most people support what we are doing because they are aware of the lack of affordable accommodation."

The Faraday street terraces have now been transformed into safe, secure, clean and warm living environments. The students have made improvements to the premises and have implemented health and safety procedures with the support of unions. SHAC has also provided free breakfasts and dinners for students and others in the local area.

For comment contact:

Tammi Jonas, President UMPA, 0422 429 362

Liz Turner, SHAC, 0402 657 392

Public Forum: Housing Crisis

2008-09-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

SHAC are hosting an informal public forum on the housing crisis!

There will be lots of information about SHAC; what we are doing, why we are doing it and how we've done it so far... Also we'll be talking about social housing, housing cooperatives and collective organising.

If you're interested in knowing more or just want to find out how YOU can support the campaign come along.

This Thursday, 6pm at SHAC. Be there!

Homeless Story...

2008-09-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

I was homeless at the age of 15 due to the fact I needed to escape a household filled with neglect and drugs. I continued going to high school and was put into emergency housing by the government but yet again, I was surrounded by strangers and drugs. It can be hard to focus on staying sane and keeping your life as normal as possible when you have no money, no options and severe lack of discipline... but I found the strength knowing that I was better than the squalor that surrounded me. Years later, I now have a beautiful home and work for a certain pay television company, but that does not make me forget where I have been and always donate money to charities that support the homeless. Having never been to the SHAC house (but have read many things about it on the internet), I would like to show my support and gratitude that there are people out there who aren't afraid to stand up for their right to live and their right to an education.

- 'Bek'

Play With Your Food

2008-08-31T20:19:00.000-07:00

Play With Your Food was a free dinner held every Monday at the University of Melbourne (run by the lovely Allegra and Max - UMSU Welfare Officers). We've now moved it over to SHAC and opened it up as a community dinner.

The SHAC Proposal is going to the University of Melbourne University Council (the big decision board) late this afternoon so come along to the Community Dinner tonight to show your support whilst we await the outcome and have a plate of tasty food, hear some live music and make some new friends.

And if you can't make it tonight come next week, it is on every Monday.

Projector Play...

2008-08-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

SHAC had some local artists come along to the house with a projector and other lights and have a play with projecting shapes and images onto the house. It looks amazing!

Homeless Story...

2008-08-29T03:33:00.000-07:00

I moved to Melbourne at the start of 2006 to attend a course not offered in my native NZ. By the end of my first year the money I'd saved ran out. Although I worked weekends and before class two days a week at the Vic Market I still couldn't make ends meet. So I moved from my overpriced, windowless room into a lovely condemned house in North Fitzroy. That got me through to second year but the owner eventually turned up with a wrecking ball and that was the end of that. My next place was an abandoned workers cottage round the corner. It was a historic building and the owners wanted it trashed so they could get approval to tear it down. They hadn't anticipated that squatters would move in and take such good care of it so they kept breaking in, smashing the place up and leaving threatening notes. So that was the end of that. The third place I found is a lovely old villa in Brunswick. I'm still living there and am finally at the end of my third year. If I can hold out for a couple more months I might actually get my degree!

- 'Robbie'

Sign Our Petition!

2008-08-26T18:59:00.001-07:00

Show your support by signing our petition! Help convince the University that allowing these buildings to be turned into a student housing co-op is a good idea!

Sign the Petition Here!

Free Breakfast

2008-08-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some on the SHAC kids outside the SHAC house this morning. We hosted a free breakfast with porridge, pancakes, coffe, tea, juice, toast, muesli, etc and got a bit silly making geeky signs to hang around our necks. Breakfast is on again on Thursday (tomorrow) so come along in the morning and chow down. We should be there from about 7.30 til 10am.

Our Proposal

2008-08-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

SHAC is a project aimed at providing student run affordable student housing. Our pilot proposal is the conversion of 272-8 Faraday Street, Carlton, into a student managed housing co-operative. SHAC arose in response to the current housing crisis which has seen a decline in the quantity of affordable student housing combined with an increase in rental costs. Recognising that the University is increasingly worried about the plight of local and international students concerning both financial viability and the housing crisis, SHAC sees itself as one of numerous possible responses by providing dynamic and equitable student housing. The strength of the SHAC process is that it provides a model for active local and international student participation in the search for solutions around affordable student housing. In line with the spirit of cooperatives, the values guiding SHAC are individual responsibility, mutual help, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.

Our Principles

2008-08-26T17:39:00.001-07:00

- That the site be entirely managed and controlled by its users.

- That the site provide a waty to make the general University experience more accessible to local and international students from low income backgrounds who might otherwise be excluded on the basis of their economic standing through the provision of low-cost and equitable accomodation.

- That all activities undertaken in the space contribute to democratic values that embrace a diversity of race, gender, sexuality, cultures and beliefs.

- That the site be accesible to the diverse spectrum of the University community and bring into contact local and international students, in dynamic and cooperative environments.

- That spaces users engage in activities that will contribute to the social, political and cultural context of the Faraday Street location, the surrounding communities, and Melbourne as a whole, and interact with the local community.

Some Living Spaces...

2008-08-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

This is an example of a sleeping space that has been set up. At the moment there are 20 to 25 people sleeping in the space on a regular basis. We've brought in and had donations of mattresses and sleeping gear like sheets and pillows and blankets and it's getting very cosy and home like.

This is our kitchen! Since this photo was taking we've had heaps of food donations and been dumpstering to fill it up with more yummies. We've already had two community dinners since moving into the space, one on Saturday and a smaller one on Monday. We have some big pots and lots of plate and cups and everyone pitches in to help prepare and cook the food and clean up afterwards.

Thank you so much to everyone who has dropped off food or supplies for us! We hope to see you all at future community events. Every Monday night there will probably be a big dinner so it is a good time to drop in...

Your Stories

2008-08-20T02:31:00.000-07:00

Ever been homeless? Studying and can't afford your rent? Have to live hours away from uni because you can't afford anywhere closer? Struggling to exist on Centrelink?

Please share your housing experiences here (in the comments). They can be as long or as short as you like and totally anonymous.

Blog will be updated daily with the stories you leave.

Banner Painting...

2008-08-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

A Little About Us...

2008-08-20T01:43:00.000-07:00

As we all know there is a big housing crisis in Melbourne. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find an affordable place to live anywhere near the inner-city. Students in particular are doing it tough, the pressures of having to study and work more and more because of rising rent (and food) prices is too much for many.

Studies done at Melbourne uni show that as many as 1000 students there could be classified as homeless. Many more are eligible for public housing. In this climate it's clear that we need to do something to claim our right to affordable housing.

Drawing inspiration from STUCCO - the affordable student housing co-op in Sydney which started as a squat and has been running for over 15 years - and from the Keppel St project of early 2006 where students occupied a state government building in the hope of creating a student housing co-op; we think the time is ripe to get active and build solutions.