Message from the CEO to our Tenants
Posted on 9 Aug 2024
We hope this message finds you well. We want to take a moment to address an important issue that has come to our attention recently—online trolling and its impact on our Aboriginal community and services.
Firstly, we want to express our gratitude for your continued support and understanding. As an Aboriginal organization committed to upholding our values and standards, we are deeply invested in fostering a respectful and supportive environment for everyone. We recognize that differing opinions are a natural part of any community, and we respect the right of each individual to express their views. However, it’s crucial to set healthy boundaries to ensure that all discourse remains constructive and does not contribute to lateral violence or personal attacks.
Unfortunately, the negative effects of online trolling have started to impact our services and increase operational costs. We are dedicated to minimizing these effects and are actively working to address the challenges they present. Some of these measures have been:
- putting in place exclusion orders to our SEARMS owned properties and places of work to protect our staff, supporters and contractors;
- increasing our Employee Assistance Program;
- supporting staff to take leave or provide flexible working conditions; and
- redirecting staff to manage social media.
You will also note that comments on SEARMS platforms will now be monitored to block non-SEARMS tenants. This is reduce the costs that the non-tenants are costing us and limiting our ability to provide housing services.
Our commitment to cultural practices is unwavering; as custodians not only of this organization but also of the housing we provide for future generations. Our resources, like caring for country, require careful management and expertise to ensure we are able to provide the services to our tenants. We are concerned in particular for our AHO and SEARMS tenants (these costs are reducing available funds and staffing for repairs & maintenance). This is a double whammy to our SEARMS tenants whose sustainable rents next year will be impacted (sustainable rent setting includes recovering costs as well as forecasted costs).
We acknowledge that the Aboriginal community housing sector has long been a source of contention as the only Aboriginal sector that takes on the responsiblity to follow up mob to uphold their part in our housing community mutual obligations, including ensuring that arrears are thoughtfully managed and properties are maintained properly.
We want to reassure our Tenants that we are here to support you. If you have any concerns or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly. For factual information and guidance, please refer to this website which is fully transparent with our audited accounts and annual reports or send an email to: admin@searms.com.au. We encourage everyone to seek the truth and rely on accurate information to make informed decisions.
We extend a blessing to those who engage in trolling and online negativity, hoping they find peace and understanding. Our commitment to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tenants/housedholds is to create a housing community based on Ancestral practices of mutual obligations where we can all thrive and rise up together beyond the constraints of colonisation, and we appreciate your cooperation in making that possible.
To those tenants and other community members who have reached out to us in support – thank you for your patience with our reduced capacity for service, your commitment to maintaining a positive community spirit, and for your continued support.
Warm regards,
Kim Sinclair, CEO
**This message has also been circulated via email and SMS to all of our Tenants via Console**