Ali from Iraq

Ali was born in Iraq and arrived in Australia in 1980. He was in car accident in the early 80s which resulted in extensive injuries including broken leg, and damage to his jaw making speech difficult. He lodged an application on 13/11/1988 for public housing and was on the general waiting list for over 20 years before been referred to the Home at Last Service by Preston Housing Office in April 2016. The intake assessment was completed and he was referred to Home at Last Outreach.

The Home At Last Outreach Worker completed priority homeless with support application which is the highest priority of the waiting list.
Ali had been living in the Caravan Park for over 15 years. The caravan had no insulation and was hot in summer and cold and damp in winter. He had a lung condition and the cold and damp were impacting on his health. His caravan didn’t have an ensuite so Ali had to walk in all weather conditions to access the communal toilet and shower block.

Due to the Public Housing Renewal Program and with current public housing tenants receiving all the public housing offers, Ali had to wait longer then normal to received a priority public housing offer. This was on top of already waiting for over 20 years for public housing.

Finally Ali received an offer and the Outreach Worker assisted him to move from the Caravan Park to the public housing property. Ali was very happy with the location because he was very familiar with the area in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne and had previously lived in the family home in the area. Most importantly there was a bus stop at the door and Ali began regularly using to get to his frequent medical appointments at the Northern hospital. There was also a bulk-bill doctor and chemist located a short walk from his new home. The Outreach Worker organised a bed, white goods and kitchen items for Ali using the Home At Last Service Brokerage funds. Ali also received a 2 seater sofa donated by one of our members and received a lovely handmade quilt from one of our amazing members and volunteers, June.

Ali was provided support to link him in with his local area, including a local financial counselling service which Ali can access by the local bus. There were some maintenance issues at the property so the Outreach Worker immediately made a referral for DHHS maintenance, and the issues were promptly rectified.