Wentworth Community Housing, Hume Housing and Evolve Housing, and their tenants, along with Penrith and Hawkesbury councils, have teamed up to help educate vulnerable community members about managing the heat.
Based on current modelling, average temperatures in Western Sydney are set to continue rising. The Western Sydney Heat and Social Housing Project was created to help social housing tenants and other vulnerable community members manage their health at home during instances of extreme heat and heatwave.
“For many people in Western Sydney, air conditioning is not an affordable option,” says Heather Chaffey, Divisional Manager of Sustainable Communities at Wentworth Community Housing.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that all people can stay cool and healthy in their homes, no matter their personal income. It really requires a whole community response.
“We need to check on our neighbours and elders, we need to share tips on how to cope, and we need to ask decision makers to help and plan ahead.”
As part of the project, resources have been developed with the help of tenants, including fact sheets, posters, social media assets and entertaining videos. They focus on cost-effective ways to keep cool and will be launched at an official event on Friday 22 January in Penrith.
The first video features social housing tenants and community members delivering helpful tips on managing the heat in the home.
The second video educates the wider community about the issue of rising heat in Western Sydney and features experts from Western Sydney University and Penrith Council, as well as a personal story from a social housing resident.
The project is funded thanks to the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s Increasing Resilience to Climate Change program.
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Eva Gerencer e: [email protected] mob: 0427 926 588
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