Shelley Jones leading the choir.

Now several weeks in, the Finding Your Voice – Women’s Community Choir at Junction’s Hackham Community Centre is building rhythm.

The initiative comprises 28 women aged between 20 and 70. The group, which meets every Friday, includes participants from a range of cultures and backgrounds.

However, it’s their individual stories and experiences of family and domestic violence which brings them together.

“From the first week where it was very quiet, to now, it’s quite amazing to hear women go from whispering to singingly loudly and really proudly,” Hackham Community Centre Team Leader Tammy Elvin said.

“We have one woman who comes all the way from the other side of town. She’s hardly spoken at all but on Friday she got up and sang a traditional song from her home country in her own language. We all had goosebumps.”

Led by local artist, performer and self-care facilitator Shelley Jones, the group is focussing on sharing stories, learning songs, and understanding how to use their voice.

“There’s a really collaborative approach to choosing the songs – music that means something to the women,” Shelley said.

Tammy adds: “When Shelley wasn’t there one week a couple of women stood up and led the group. They were nervous at first, but they did such a terrific job.”

Finding Your Voice has been made possible through a grant from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation’s Local Drug Action Team. With a strong focus on early intervention and prevention, Tammy said the program was about the individual but also, the broader community.

“Research tells us women who have experienced dv are more likely to engage in risky behaviour like drugs and alcohol,” she said.

“We developed the program, so it is focussed on building capacity and relationships not just for the women attending but their children, extended family, and the whole community. It’s not just about managing risk but unlocking opportunity. There is so much potential here among this group and within these people.

“The vision for this choir is for it to be sustainable – community owned and supported. It’s a platform for these women to continue to grow and evolve. It’s clear they will also carry messaging around domestic violence and abuse and creating awareness about the issue wherever they sing.”

The short-term goal, however, is a concert on Sunday, November 27 at the Old Noarlunga Institute Hall from 1-3pm.

“The concert will be a wonderful celebration,” Tammy said. “It’s a bit of a journey and the songs will very much tell the stories from ‘this is where we’ve been’ to ‘this is where we are’.”

Anne in her garden.

Almost two years after her initial diagnosis, Anne is re-gaining strength, getting back to her hobbies and even giving back, where she can.

In late 2020, Anne was diagnosed with bowel cancer – picked up during an unrelated surgery. That November, Anne underwent surgery to remove the tumor and parts of her colon before starting chemotherapy at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The three-month process had quite an impact on Anne’s health.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be that intense” said Anne, “It has a high impact with big side effects.”

Anne is now entering a five-year surveillance period which consists of regular blood tests, CT scans and colonoscopies to look for cancer markers.

“They don’t really call it remission because it can potentially come back at any time, but more likely during the five years,” she explained.

Around the same time, both of Anne’s siblings received a cancer diagnosis and her brother passed away from the disease shortly after.

During such a difficult time, Anne credits the work of her medical team at the QEH – especially the oncologists who she was able to call for support at any time. But she would not have been able to do it without the love and support of her two children.

“I wouldn’t have been able to get through it without them.”

Keeping in touch with loved-ones kept Anne going through her treatment and recovery. As she continues to regain her strength, Anne is looking forward to dining out at restaurants and getting back out into nature and the community. She also has since become a volunteer with the Cancer Council.

Arvinder (L) and Simran (R)

For Simran and Arvinder, settling into their new home feels like breathing again after months of struggling to stay afloat.

The newly-weds should have been looking forward to starting a new chapter of their lives. Instead, they were met with months of turmoil and uncertainty stemming from a crushingly competitive rental market.

“After the wedding – I thought we would be relaxing and unwinding. We were looking forward to focusing on our relationship and building our life together,” Simran said. “I had rented in Perth for over 10 years with no issue, so I was super confident we could find a home in Adelaide.”

Both IT Consultants with a perfect rental history, excellent credit and references – finding a new home during their relocation to Adelaide seemed like it would be ‘no trouble at all’. However, reality came as a complete shock. During the six months that followed, the couple applied to over 100 properties with no success.

“We never thought the rental market would be this crazy. There would be 20 to 30 people coming to each inspection and we weren’t getting any calls,” Arvinder said.

Looking for a home had gone from an exciting new start to a rigid home-hunting regime run from hotels, short-term rentals, and Airbnbs.

“We would originally visit properties together. But we were attending so many that we had to split up to make the times,” Arvinder said. “We visited so many that by the end of the day I didn’t remember any of them.”

Eventually, after receiving only one offer for an old, mould-covered home in the northern suburbs, they felt like they had hit rock-bottom.

“We only lasted three days in that place. I physically couldn’t breathe because of the mould. I cried every night and thought to myself – is this really what our life has come to?” Simran said. When Simran received a call from Junction with an offer of a new home within our affordable housing portfolio, she “broke down out of pure relief and joy.”

The apartment is one of 10 Junction has purchased within the vibrant new precinct at West to provide long term, stable rental housing for tenants able to pay up to 74.9 per cent of market rent.

“We were living out of our suitcases.” Arvinder said. “Now, we’ve been able to buy furniture and make it feel more like a home. It’s clean, it’s comfortable and it’s in a great location. We feel so lucky to be here.”

“It feels like we’ve finally reached the shore after swimming for so long,” Simran said.

Roger with one of his model yachts.

Building model yachts, plumbing and carnation farming are among Roger’s life experiences – but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing!

Originally from Port Lincoln, Roger, who now lives in Strathablyn, began his career at just 14, working as a plumber alongside his father in the family business.

Following the passing of both parents, Roger “bit the bullet” and began a carnation farm with his wife – something neither of them had any experience in.

“We started in ‘88 with only 400 plants,” he said. “We killed the bloody lot that year.”

Determined to learn from his mistakes, Roger and his wife spent the next several years building the farm into a success. By the early 90s, they were harvesting 1000 carnations per day (57,000 per year) and supplying to Alice Springs, Sydney and Melbourne.

Struggling to keep up with demand, Roger eventually sold the business. However, things took a turn for the worse with the new owners and the sale didn’t work out as positively as he and the family expected.

Roger and his family relocated to Strathalbyn. Despite being down on his luck at the time, Roger was still keen to give back to his community and that’s where his next big journey began. Beginning the ‘South-Eastern Modern Yacht Club” in ’92 and acting as the Commodore, the Club now hosts 33 regular members.

During this time, Roger was approached by a local high school and asked to use his building skills to engage young people who were struggling with traditional and academic subjects. Roger’s patience and personality was the perfect fit for this role and the rewards were astounding.

“Watching these kids come back after school to keep working on their yacht was such a treat,” he said.

Now retired from teaching and his Commodore duties, Roger holds a lifetime membership to the club but these days spends most of his time gardening and catching up with friends and family – as well as caring for his pet dog, Milo.

“I’ve lived a good life,” he said.

Amber showing us some of her clay art.

Life’s hectic for Noarlunga Downs resident Amber – and that’s just the way she likes it.

The 16-year-old is completing Year 10 – and Year 11 maths – while working part time in a local bakery and undertaking a barista course.

Despite her busy schedule, Amber’s hard work is paying off. She was awarded the Highest Performing Academic Student for the past two years at Willunga High school. This was in addition to being among the 2021 Community Housing ARTS (CHARTS) awards winners for her poem ‘New Moon, Consume’.

As part of Amber’s CHARTS prize pack, she won a three-day intensive course at the Adelaide Central School of Arts (ACSA). This provided her access to multiple artistic mediums and platforms, as well as first-hand insight and tips from some of South Australia’s most experienced artists.

Amber’s Poem, winner of the Youth Artist Poetry and Literature category in the 2021 Community Housing Arts Awards (CHARTS).

Harnessing experience gained from using clay for the first time during the ACSA course, Amber has since refined her skills and started making jewelry and other nick-nacks.

“I’ve never worked with clay before,” she said. “It just came naturally”

Although Amber’s favourite subjects at school are maths and science, she has always enjoyed the creative freedom she derives from art.

Congratulations Amber! We can’t wait to see where your commitment and talents take you.