We first teamed up with The Victorian Homeless Fund (VHF) in 2021. The charity provides long-term, stable homes for people in need, with a focus on supporting women and children escaping family violence.
Alongside assisting with the construction costs for this new house, which will be generously built by Fairhaven Homes, we’ll be fitting the property out with solar panels and provide the family that moves in with free electricity, gas and broadband for 12 months.
Fairhaven Homes will build a fully landscaped, five bedroom, two living room home, complete with furniture throughout.
Our Executive General Manager of Retail, Jon Briskin, recently attended the site for a groundbreaking ceremony, alongside VHF Chair, Colleen May, and Fairhaven Homes Founder and Director, Rodney Radings.
“It’s exciting to see the ‘Origin House’ project starting to come to life, thanks to the hard work and generosity of so many people, including the team at Fairhaven Homes and the Victorian Homeless Fund,” Mr Briskin said.
“The Victorian Homeless Fund makes a real difference with the work they do supporting vulnerable people in our community, and we’re pleased to be able to support them on this project and help a family in need.
Supported by the Housing Industry Association, the VHF works with a range of stakeholders to convert unused residential land into family homes, then transferring these into the hands of not-for-profit community housing organisations to support people in need.
Origin has previously been involved in two VHF builds, including providing 12 months of free energy for tenants. This initiative, and partnership with VHF, is an extension of Origin’s commitment to helping Australians who need support.
For more than 20 years, we’ve supported vulnerable customers through our Power On program, helping them manage their energy bills. And, over the past three years, we’ve spent $90 million supporting vulnerable customers, and we’ll spend another $50 million in the next year.
