MISSION Australia Housing has been busier than ever during the pandemic, so the Mid North Coast branch jumped at support from two Southern Cross University psychology students.

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Ellie Harris, from Bellingen, and Gold Coaster Sam Hayes volunteered as part of the 2020 National Student Volunteer Week.

Their role? Making calls on behalf of Mission Australia Housing Mid North Coast, to help people complete the organisation’s annual online survey that measures the wellbeing of tenants living in social housing.

The pair said while collecting the survey data was important – as the calls were to people without access to technology – the simple interaction with tenants made a world of difference.

Sam said, “Due to the pandemic, so many people are living in isolation with limited human contact. This project was such an amazing and rewarding experience for everyone involved.”

“I loved volunteering with Mission Australia Housing!”

Ellie agreed.

“It was such a valuable and insightful experience speaking with such diverse and lovely people,” said Ellie.

“I spoke with a woman who said that I was the first person that she had contact with in over a
month and that I made her day.

Ellie said, “That made my day! Thank you to the awesome staff of Mission Australia Housing for the great work you do for your tenants, every day.”

Mission Australia Housing’s annual Impact Measurement survey of tenant wellbeing helps the charity understand how its services are improving the lives of clients and the communities they work in as well as how to adjust their service delivery to improve health, housing and social outcomes.

“Tenant input shapes how we deliver services to our tenants, it’s an essential part of our work,” said Jesse Taylor, Mission Australia Housing’s Community Development Officer.

“Sam and Ellie are a great team and formed a strong bond working closely together via the MS
Teams platform.”

“We achieved our goals on-time and provided an insightful experience that value-adds to their University education,” said Jesse.

By Sandra MOON