20th Anniversary: SEARMS launches book
Posted on 8 Jul 2024
Community-controlled housing organisation a successful model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
To celebrate their 20th anniversary, local Aboriginal community controlled housing provider, SEARMS, is launching a book about the history of their organisation and its place in the broader Aboriginal housing picture since colonisation.
“An Aboriginal voice in housing” focuses on ‘southeast NSW’ where SEARMS previously or now manage homes for Aboriginal people including Batemans Bay.
Authors, Dr Tony Gilmour and local Elder and SEARMS Chair Tom Slockee, have set the book within the context of broader themes impacting where and how Aboriginal people lived by the time of the 1967 referendum, from the legacy of managed reserves (missions), and failed government policies.
Tom said that since colonisation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have faced major barriers to home ownership and discrimination in the private market.
“I asked Tony Gilmour to help write a book so we could record and respect the wisdom of Elders, pass knowledge to the next generation of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, and learn from the successes and failures of the past,” he said.
Tony explained that a regional Aboriginal housing history might appear distant from current constitutional debates but organisations like SEARMS and its network of leaders are important ‘voices’ on Aboriginal housing issues.
“We need a chorus of Aboriginal voices – local, regional, state-wide and national – if we are to better address seemingly intractable Aboriginal housing issues dating back to colonisation.
“Building the community-controlled sector is one of four ‘Closing the gap’ priority areas, and housing one of four key sectors. This means the next few years look set for a considerable expansion of Aboriginal community housing providers like SEARMS. Research for this book gives pointers on approaches that work best to establish and nurture these organisations – learning from SEARMS’s practical experience over two decades,” said Tony.
Books can be purchased online at https://searms-community-housing-aboriginal-corporation.square.site/
