HISTORY
AND OUTLINE OF AINSLIE VILLAGE
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Ainslie
Village started as a military barracks during World War II, when many barracks
were constructed around Canberra. After the War, the site was used as temporary
housing for people working on the Canberra post-war reconstruction plan. As
these workers moved out, the site was used for new migrants to Australia and
then for low-income and homeless people. However, the original barracks
buildings, which were never intended to be permanent, deteriorated and little
was spent on maintenance and improvement. By 1979, the hostel had a very bad
reputation: few would stay there, and there were only 35 residents though there
was accommodation for 400. In 1984, a report recommended that Ainslie Village
be demolished.
But there
was interest in developing the site, and in 1987 the first of a number of
development plans were started. At the same time, however, residents lost
control and eventually got the ACT Department of Housing to hold an inquiry.
Shortly after this the Village was entrusted to Centacare.
The present
form of the village dates back to 1990, which was when the Administration
building, the Lodge, the Billabong and other buildings were built.
| 1940 - 1945 | Ainslie Village built
as a military barracks |
| 1945 - 1976 | Run by Commonwealth
Hostels, Ltd (govt. organization) as housing for reconstruction workers,
migrants and low income |
| 1976- 1980 | Run by the Department
for the Capital Territory. Little
maintenance or building; general decline |
| 1980 | Transferred to Ainslie
Village Management |
| 1987 | ACT Housing approved
funding for redevelopment and building on stage 1 started |
| 1988 | Stage 2 plan |
| 1989 | Stage 3 plan – Ainslie
Village assumes the form in which we know it today |
| 1989 | ACT becomes self-governing territory |
| 1989 | ACT government dissolves
Board of Directors and Ainslie Village Ltd becomes management. |
| 1994 | After resident prssure,
ACT Housing calls enquiry. Kelly
Report recommends major changes. |
| 1994 | Ainslie Village Management dissolves itself and Centacare becomes management company. ACT government promises $2 million for redevelopment. |
Ainslie
Village is one of Australia’s most successful homeless initiatives. But how did this all come about?
The Ainslie
Village site started as a military barracks during World War II, as one of a
number of barracks sites for Defence Personnel located around Canberra.
After 1945,
the Government started a post-war reconstruction plan for Canberra. Unskilled workers, many of whom were
migrants, moved to Canberra and there was a serious accommodation shortage. The old barracks buildings were used as
construction camps and as temporary housing; more temporary buildings were also
built. These prefabricated buildings
were not intended to be permanent.
Gradually
the construction workers found or were allocated housing, and the hostel was
then used for short-term accommodation for migrants to Australia.
Commonwealth
Hostels Ltd, the government organization that ran the site, handed it over to
the Department for the Capital Territory in 1976. From 1976 to 1980 the Department operated the hostel in
conjunction with private contractors as short-term migrant and low-income
housing. This system meant that little
was spent in maintenance and capital improvement of the site. The buildings, never intended to be
permanent, aged and deteriorated. Soon
only the worst cases among the homeless would stay there, and the hostel had a
very bad reputation for violence and disorder.
Many people referred to Ainslie Village by crisis services refused to
stay there. By 1979, although the
hostel had a maximum capacity of 400 people, there were only 35 residents.
There was
growing community interest in the
problems of homelessness in Canberra.
Especially, a community organization called Jobless Action was
interested in the possibilities of the site.
In 1980, a joint submission by Jobless Action, the Society of St.
Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army, and Paddy Brennan and Tom Murray (on
behalf of the proposed new Ainslie Village management company) was presented to
the Minister for the Capital territory.
The then Minister, the Hon. R. J. Ellicot, approved the proposal and on
March 13 1980, Ainslie Village Management was incorporated and the site was
formally transferred to AVM, to act in collaboration with the Interim Board of
Trustees. There were a number of
changes in management procedures over the next few years, the basic result of
which was to give residents more involvement and control over the Village.
However
there were still many problems, and the buildings remained old and in bad
condition. A 1984 report on homelessness
in Canberra recommended that Ainslie Village be demolished, and in 1986 the ACT
fire brigade warned that it posed a major fire hazard. In April 1985, the Department of Housing and
Construction indicated that funding might be available for redevelopment and
asked for a proposal. In July 1985, a
subcommittee was formed to oversee a feasibility study for the staged
development and restructuring of Ainslie Village. The members were Paddy Murray, Tom Brennan, Rosemary Nairn and a
resident, Paul Flanagan. As plans
developed and firmed, this committee was replaced by a new Restructuring
Committee with representatives from government, staff, and residents.
A decision
was made to redevelop the site and a Stage 1 building and also landscaping plan
were drawn up. The architects and
builders were appointed by the National Capital Development Commission with the
plans being approved by Ainslie Village Management. Building was done by Whiteholme P/L, with the landscaping
contract eventually being awarded to the Ainslie Village Management
Committee. Building commenced in 1987,
with the Commencement Ceremony held on June 3, 1987.the first four new
buildings being handed over to residents just before Christmas 1987. A number of resident workers were among
those employed on both building and landscaping.
As Stage
2 approached, the ACT Housing trust advised that it had no funds available
for the 1987/88 financial year, and in order to keep work moving, Whiteholme
P/L agreed to carry the cost until June 1988.
A Stage 3
plan commenced 1989 included the Administration building (1990) and Special
Purpose Residences (the Lodge). Further
landscaping was done and it was at this time that the Village first took the
general form which we know today, with the roundabout at the front, admin
building, billabong (series of concrete ponds next to the Facilities Block),
and so on. (From 1987, some rooms had
been used for residents with severe drug and alchohol problems and a subsidy for
those rooms had been received from the ACT Drug and Alchohol service).
In 1989
there were problems, however. The ACT
Government dismissed the Board of Directors, and formed Ainslie Village Limited
to manage the Village. Most of the
resident participation was curtailed, with outsiders on the Board outnumbering
residents. For the next five years
residents were dissatisfied and there were complaints of unfair evictions,
invasions of privacy and misuse of Village funds. Resident action led to a major inquiry which was conducted for
Housing and Community Services by retired ACT Supreme Court justice, JJA
Kelly. His report in August 1994 made a
number of recommendations. These were
not implemented by AV Ltd, which instead dissolved as a company. After this a panel comprising
representatives from the Federal and ACT governments and a community
representative selected Centacare, the welfare organization of the Catholic
Church, to run Ainslie Village permanently, subject to a number of conditions
including implementation of the Kelly Report recommendations and periodic
evaluations. Also, in December 1994,
the ACT government announced that approximately $2 million would be made
available by the ACT and Commonwealth Governments for redevelopment.
Since that
time, Ainslie Village has been run by Centacare, with assistance and financial
and other input from a number of organizations including the Society of Saint
Vincent de Paul, which runs the Blue Door drop-in center at the Village. Some
of the other many organisations which have given time, help, funds over the
years include: the Salvation Army, the Uniting Church, the Southern Cross
and Canberra Labour Clubs, and various Rotary Clubs.
At present
Ainslie Village is run by Centacare, which appoints a management team and
staff. Centacare is advised by the
Ainslie Village Council, which consists of: 8 elected residents (elected by
residents on a yearly basis), 2 elected Staff members (elected by staff –
there are about 20 staff) , 2 elected worker members (support workers, elected
by support workers), 4 Friends of the Village (2 appointed each year by the
outgoing Council, and two by the incoming Council), and the General Manager
and the Community Welfare Worker (not all of these positions are currently
filled). There are 23 blocks, the
Administration Building, the Lodge (which is for residents with more severe
problems), plus a Dining Hall and other facilities (pool hall, council chambers
etc..)
In 2001
Centacare received a $20,000 grant from the ACT Government to set up an
Internet café under the Digital Divide program. The Ainslie Village Council devolved the task onto Council member
David Johnson, who in turn involved resident Geoff Byng to help with the
paperwork, administrative, setup, software and web writing (David did most of
the work). Centacare was surprised and
pleased to find that residents had all the skills to set up the café almost
unassisted. General manager Andrew
Champion, Centacare IT person Nick Nulty, and Accountant Gerry Lillicrap were
most helpful.
Another
recent change is the redevelopment of M block to provide more crisis
accommodation. Crisis (overnight,
short-term) services in the ACT are very limited. In the past, part of M block was used for crisis accommodation,
but this was very limited: if a female was the first to arrive any day looking
for crisis accommodation, only a few females could be helped: if a male was the
first to arrive, it was male. The
redevelopment will turn the bottom of M block into crisis accommodation.
At the time
of writing (September 2002) there is approximately a two-week delay in getting
accommodation at the Village.
Prospective residents are interviewed by a Support Worker. There are approximately 200 residents,
mostly male. Many residents come on
referrals from Samaritan House. There are
both ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ blocks. There are
eight rooms per block, a few rooms having interconnecting doors allowing
couples to be accommodated in adjoining rooms.
There are a few four-person blocks: prospective residents for these have
to be interviewed by existing residents.
SOME
GENERAL POINTS AND ISSUES from residents and Centacare.*see
note
Ainslie
Village is supposed to provide Medium-term accommodation for homeless men and
women. Many of the residents have severe problems with alcohol or drug
abuse. Centacare suggests that 80% of
the residents have mental problems of some sort.
Over the
years, there have been various plans for increasing resident opportunities both
to work within the village and to be involved in the management of it. Most of these initiatives have foundered on
various difficulties. The history of
the Village seems to show that a balance needs to be struck between resident
control and effective management. If
residents have too much control, it seems that management is not necessarily effective. If residents do not have enough control,
management practices can arise which deny the rights of residents. The present system, which is balanced
slightly more towards management control, is reasonably effective, although
there is not as much trust between residents and management as would be
desirable.
RESIDENTS'
ISSUES
The main
issues that the Council is concerned with at the moment involve a perceived
reduction of services and facilities at the Village over a long period. For example, two services that have been
lost over the years are a shop and the needle exchange program. At present, residents are concerned at the
cut-back of support worker services.
Formerly, support workers were available throughout the night to
residents who had problems, but in August 2002 this was cut back out of
concerns for workers’ safety and a due to reduction in funding, so that now the
night worker is now not permitted to leave the building at night. At the same time, the support worker patrols
have been stopped and replaced by security patrols. Residents feel that the security guards are not sensitive enough
or familiar enough with the residents.
MANAGEMENT
ISSUES
Ainslie
Village was originally intended as medium-term accommodation. However, due to delays with the provision of
State Housing, there are a number of residents who have been here for several
years; even many years. This is not the best solution for many residents. It seems that the ACT government would like
to find other solutions for residents who need extra support, and transform
Ainslie Village into a more secure solution for residents. This may not accord with the direction that
Centacare feels the Village should go in.
Read
a Statement by Ainslie Village Manager Andrew Champion on future directions
for the Village.
GO
BACK to the home page
*
Note: This section represents only the views of the author, not the viewpoints
of Committee members or staff.
This page
was written by Geoff Byng
Richard
Thomas, Ainslie Village, Hostel to Home, Canberra, Ainslie Village
Management, 1987
(pamphlet,
no author given), An Introduction to… AINSLIE VILLAGE, Canberra, Ainslie
Village Ltd, 1993
MSJ Keys
Young Planners, McConnell Smith & Johnson Architects, Ainslie Village
Redebelopment Plan, Canberra, Unpublished Document, 1986
Letter from
Peter Guild, General Manager ACT Housing to Mr Neil Harrigan, General Manager,
Centacare, dated 4-8-1995
Anonymous ,
Welcome to Ainslie Village (Pamphlet), Canberra, Ainslie Village Ltd,
undated approx. 1995
Commonwealth
Dept of Health and Community services, SAAP Information sheet – Homelessness
(Fact Sheet No.1), Canberra, DHCS, (undated-approx 1998?)
H Lang, L
Craze and R Lang, ACT SAAP Evaluation 1995 (Questionnaire with
supporting papers and letters), Canberra, SAAP Agency, 1995
Various, Ainslie
Village Redevelopment Stage 3 – Final Sketch Plan report, Canberra,
Whiteholme (ACT) Pty Ltd, April 1989 (unpublished)
SAAP, Draft
ACT STRATEGIC PLAN Supported Accomodation Assisstance Program 1996-97 to
1998-99 (for the Seminar for ACT SAAP Services, February 1996), Canberra,
unpublished document, 1996.
Colin
Plowman, Ainslie Village Hostel - A Social service Delivery Evaluation of
Ainslie Village Hostel, Canberra, Centre for Continuing Education ANU, 1992
Anonymous, “SAAP
funding for the Village” The board of Inquiry report recommendation 9; AVL’s
Response to the call for better targeting of SAAP funds, and a response to
AVL’s position, Canberra, Ainslie Village Independent Resident’s
Association (AVIRA), 1994
Anonymous, Integrated
management Plan for Ainslie Village prepared by Centacare for ACT Housing,
Canberra, Centacare, 1996
Anonymous, Centacare
Ainslie Village (Pamphlet for new residents), Canberra, Centacare, undated
approx 1995 (?)
Seija
Talviharju, Voices of the Village People – Resident’s Perspectives of living
at Ainslie Village, Canberra, Centacare, unpublished study 1995.
Above
documents supplied by Centacare.
Ecarta
Online: Australian Capital Territory
http://www.greatestcities.com/Oceania/Australia_Encarta_AU_edition/Australian_Capital_Territory/Canberra_city_state_capital/history.htm