What You Can do to Help - Flemington, North Melbourne Housing Commission Lockdown

If you're reading this then you are angry, curious, and feel a significant piece of injustice is happening right now to our brothers and sisters in housing communities in Flemington, Kensington and North Melbourne.  

120 Racecourse Road, Flemington. Image is copyright.

I've scoured ways to help because I personally feel the State Government has gone about this is a MAJORLY wrong way.  I won't go into the details, because if you're here then you've an inkling of how f***ed up this situation can be, if they keep going this way.

As I'm writing this (Monday morning, 6 July), these are the things that have gone through my head:

1. Who are the cleaning contractors for Melbourne's public housing?  (Is it still GJK?  And assisted in scope by ISS Facility Services?)  I believe the contracts were extended in scope at the start of the State of Emergency declaration for Victoria back in March.  I see 'cleaning casuals' in groups of four everywhere on CBD streets and south-eastern suburbs streets (where I currently live.)  My brother lives in Flemington and I'm not sure the streets were afforded the same cleaning treatment.  The question is, the cleaning contracts for the housing estates are very lucrative -- what have they done since March with ensuring extended hygiene measures??
2. Before announcing a #lockdown or a change of rules altogether, people normally get a bit of notice -- at least 24 hours, FFS!  To stock on food, medicine, and other home and health supplies.  Various interviews and news outlets have clearly demonstrated that the first that anyone had ever heard of the plans to shut Flemington flats down, as well as restrict the other flats in the area -- was when Premier Andrews went live on TV on Saturday 4 July.  This includes both sides of the 'fence': the residents and the enforcers, and the ones in between: the support people, the NGOs, the community associations and peak bodies, the health practitioners came in later.  Premier Andrews hasn't been a complete idiot in managing crises, and he's done OK with serving the needs of migrant and underprivileged communities, so why this, now?  Why all the police, the NO-PLAN plan, the knee-jerk reaction?  What's changed?  Is there pressure from others?  Am I missing something here?  I don't wish to be speculative but seriously, his execution style on this particular second wave of #covid infections has been far from compassionate and thoughtful.  The reason I say this is because we're only just freshly digesting the #BLM events and I really, really, wished that Andrews had done this a bit more differently.  No one is arguing there is no need for a stricter lockdown in cluster communities, but come on, NGOs and friends and family are not even allowed to send in care packages and food! (see screenshot below by Flemington Community Food Program.)
3. How do we plan to go forth with this sh*tshow of a containment/detention plan?  I'd be very careful, thorough, thoughful, and a bit more compassionate.  During March through to June, Malaysians weren't able to even go outside for any reason (unless exempt), and only one person in the household was allowed to go grocery shopping.  If you were living in high-rise apartments or condominiums, people were allowed exercise along the corridors and shared spaces and whatnot with restrictions on times, etc.  The highways and roads had police presence in terms of movements from one suburb to another, if you like, and now, after 100 or so days, people can finally go out and socialise and do sports and attend gatherings and dine-in at restaurants (albeit with social distancing measures and compulsory mask-wearing imposed.) This is only one example, and even this type of lockdown is still more humane than what is happening in Flemington right now.  Premier Andrews, please, please, get some pointers on how to go about this the right way.  

List of resources as of noon, Monday 6 July of active help and assistance

• Watch this video, please.  Fresh off the press, with residents in two towers speaking on first-hand experience: one Flemington, one North Melbourne.  Adam Bandt, Federal MP for Melbourne and Ellen Sandell, State MP for #Melbourne also make an appearance. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCQXr8ipTVJ/?hl=en

• Flemington Community Food Program, a Flemington-based NGO that has been around in the community for a number of years.  Unfortunately these guys can't access the flats, but you can still donate food. 
• North Melbourne-based AMSSA (Australian Muslim Social Services Agency) is asking for donations of PPE equipment (masks, gloves, hand sanitiser), food (preferably uncooked), baby products (nappies, wipes, baby formula, baby food), sanitary pads, medication (Panadol, Nurofen, Ventolin inhalers) and toilet paper.  You can drop off your donations at AMSSA Centre at 91-101 Boundary Road in North Melbourne.  For more information (and drop off times) head to their Facebook and Instagram pages. 
• The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre has teamed up with the Victorian Trades Hall Council to help families in lockdown. The centre’s catering social enterprise ASRC Catering will be delivering thousands of meals to the towers alongside the Moving Feast network emergency response. Kon Karapanagiotidis, CEO of the ASRC, has said the meals will be “culturally inclusive, appropriate and nutritious,” and be something “these communities deserve.”  You can support the ASRC anytime by donating funds or supplies here.
• There’s also the option to donate to a fundraiser set up by Victorian Trades Hall Council who will be donating 100 per cent of the funds to the residents.  The council announced on its Facebook page that the funds will be disbursed “in consultation with the Victorian Multicultural Commission, community groups and residents, and their representative associations and in consultation with community services support, and the government.”
• You can also donate to Foodbank Victoria, who are delivering food and personal care hampers to those in the towers.  As of Sunday, July 5, the organisation has delivered 1600 hampers to the families in hard lockdown. 

For live updates on people who are mobilising support and actively engaging politicians and the like

• Friends of Public Housing Victoria (FOPHV) Facebook page
• Wingate Avenue Community Centre Facebook page
• ​​Ellen Sandell Twitter account
• Follow the hastag #freethe9blocks on Twitter

I will update this page every day or so, anytime I feel there are more resources worth sharing.  Stay safe, and stay sane, everyone.  Look after each other please. 

​Love, Najah xx

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