Celebrating International Women’s Day

This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the women who work within our organisation to support thousands of South Australian women and their families.

This year, the theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’, which Believe Housing Australia is passionate about. We are dedicated to supporting women of all backgrounds and are strong advocates for standing up to bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

We are proud to have so many inspirational women within our organisation changing lives and making a positive difference in our community.

Meet one of them – Christie Marrot-Castellat.

It’s a job that couldn’t be more rewarding for Christie, who came to Believe Housing Australia 14 months ago in search of a job that makes a difference in people’s lives.

Much of Christie’s role as an intensive tenancy support officer involves working with community housing tenants who need support to sustain their tenancies because of the complex needs of the household.

“Complex needs are often trauma-related and may include domestic and family violence, mental health issues, substance abuse, and hoarding behaviours,” Christie said.
Christie organises a range of supports to help each person sustain their tenancy and remain housed.

“We teach people fundamental life skills, organise deep cleans, help them build capacity and find the right referral pathways for them.

“Everyone’s situation is different – I’m a big advocate for finding support services appropriate for each person.”

Christie said navigating the complex needs that some people are experiencing can be challenging, but the end result is worth it.

“Some people are reluctant to let me in or they do not see an issue with how they are living. It is rewarding to be able to see the improvements in living conditions and each tenant’s mental health from the start of our journey to the end.”

Christie said her role in working in partnership with tenants to overcome challenging circumstances is similar to the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day.

“International Women’s Day is an opportunity to bring awareness to the importance of gender rights and equality in all diversities and talk about it,” she said.

“We have come a long way but there’s more still left to do to forge a more inclusive world for women.

“We need to acknowledge the challenges experienced by all women and advocate for change.”