Indigenous Hospitality House - Vacancy

Indigenous Hospitality House - Vacancy

The Indigenous Hospitality House (IHH) was established in response to a report written by Indigenous workers at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Lookin’ After Our Own, which identified the need for appropriate accommodation for families supporting a patient.

The House was set up in consultation with members of the indigenous community, and the first residents included an indigenous elder, Norm Baxter. We began taking guests in May 2001 and since then have had more than 200, some on more than one occasion. There are now eight adult residents and two children, all non-indigenous, who open their home to these guests.

Integral to offering our hospitality is that the House functions as a kind of extended family home, where those that live in and around the main house share the duties associated with welcoming, cooking, cleaning and chatting with guests.

The hospitals’ Indigenous Liaison Workers arrange each family’s stay. The cost of running the House is kept to a minimum as the residents all pay their own way and volunteer their labour. We receive donations for guest food, linen, and other household items as well as money to cover the costs of rent on the guest rooms and mailouts. Let us know if you’d like to receive our quarterly newsletters.

The group who established the House were all Uniting Church based. The current group of residents and business committee members are from the Uniting Church, Quakers, Baptists, Catholic and Christians who are non-denominational.

We are seeking new residents to move in!

Four residents are leaving at the end of the year, leaving us with Unit 4 vacant a 2-bedroom unit and a room vacant at Unit 2 in another 2-bedroom unit - just waiting for you! The vacant unit could be suitable for a couple and a single, or just a couple if you are willing to pay the extra rental (the unit is $240 per week). Whilst the room at Unit 2 is available for single use ($80 per week). We also have a spare room in Unit 1, which we’d like to fill ($80 per week). This year we have had 8 adult residents, 7 who have actively participated in the running of the house.

We usually ask residents to be available at the house 2 nights a week to cook, wash up and hang out with guests. If you are available during the day, you could also be on the roster for Daily House Person.

If you’d like some more info about the house, moving in or being involved, indigenous_hospitality_house@yahoo.com.au