The number of women over the age of 55 seeking support from homelessness services has increased by 55 percent in the past decade, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
About 5000 people each year are in urgent need of housing, with 50,000 to 60,000 people consistently on the waitlist for social housing in NSW.
To address the issue, the NSW government has now committed more than $18 million to create 78 new dwellings in areas such as Seven Hills, Camden, Revesby and Maroubra.
Community housing provider, Women’s Housing Company, will offer design consultation to create fit-for-purpose bedroom units. They will all solely exist for older women.
The number of older women over the age of 55 seeking support from homelessness services has increased by 55 percent in the past decade.
The CEO of Women’s Housing Company, Debbie Georgopoulos, told the newspaper the government partnership was a welcome step forward, but conceded 78 dwellings was “a drop in the ocean.”
“For single women on the aged pension, there are no affordable properties in greater Sydney. We need to maximise the number of units with the best design possible, so women can age in place,” Ms Georgopoulos said.
The investment comes after the Perrottet government last month committed almost $500 million to extra refuges for women and children fleeing domestic and family violence.
Fronditha Care St Albans is one of 46 facilities in Victoria with a current COVID-19 outbreak.
Fronditha Care undertakes proactive asymptomatic testing for all staff and residents. This current outbreak is believed to be due to a rapid test showing a false negative result for an asymptomatic staff member.
Fronditha Care St Albans immediately initiated its COVID-19 Outbreak Management Plan and has worked hand in glove with the Public Health Unit, DHS Victoria and Western Health Outreach Team, ensuring direct controls to manage the outbreak and that organisational compliance with directives and reporting requirements are in place to mitigate risk for all residents, staff and community.
Fronditha Care confirmed that of the 74 St Albans residents, 25 have returned positive results in initial COVID testing. The outbreak is contained to one wing of the facility with all residents of that wing, except for 3, fully vaccinated.
22 residents were and remain asymptomatic, 2 residents have continued to test negative. All residents are isolating in their rooms and are in good health and great spirits.
Fronditha Care St Albans has been hit by a COVID-19 outbreak.
Sadly, one unvaccinated resident with underlying health issues passed away on Saturday morning. Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers are with their family and loved ones.
Of the 106 St Albans staff, 16 have returned a positive result, they are isolating at home and all doing well.
“Whilst Victorians today are enjoying new freedoms, there is unfortunately more exposure now than when we were in lockdown, with over 9,500 active cases in the community and 1,166 cases reported today. And it is anticipated that this trend of high community transmission will continue for the foreseeable future,” said Faye Spiteri OAM, CEO of Fronditha Care.
“I want to reassure the community that Fronditha Care has done everything it possibly can to protect and ensure the safety and wellbeing of its residents, staff, and the broader Fronditha Care community.
“We have had a great track record to date of keeping the virus at bay, but given the extraordinarily high cases in community we were prepared. With the swift actions of the St Albans Management team and support of the Public Health Unit and Western Health Outreach Team we are cautiously optimistic that this outbreak has been contained.”
All residents are in “great spirits,” Fronditha Care says.
Based on PCR test results as of Friday, 19 November 2021, all residents who had previously tested negative have again returned negative results. Regular testing of residents and staff is ongoing.
In the meantime, Fronditha Care St Albans, continues to follow strict infection control procedures in line with policies and as guided by the Public Health Unit, DHS Victoria.
There is open and regular communication with all residents, families, representatives, and staff of Fronditha Care St Albans.
“We really appreciate the cooperation, assistance and understanding of families during this time. Yesterday, to address queries directly I hosted an online briefing for St Albans residents, their family and representatives, together with the Executive General Manager Residential Services, St Albans Manager and with the participation of Jill Taylor (Nikitakis), President and Kostas Livadaras, Director,” Faye Spiteri OAM said.
“I want to sincerely thank the Board of Directors, the Executive and especially the facility Manager and each and every St Albans staff member, the Public Health Unit, DHS Victoria and Western Health for working collaboratively through this very challenging time.”
Fronditha Care strongly encourages all community members to get vaccinated and follow health advice.
Athens Medical School professor and epidemiologist, Sotiris Tsiodras, has been appointed to head a new interdisciplinary academic committee that will advise the Health Ministry on public policy, Ekathimerinireports.
Dr Tsiodras became a household name in the first year of the pandemic as the government’s chief advisor and spokesperson.
He grew up in Sydney and completed his medical training in Greece and at Harvard University. He is internationally recognised in his field and has published hundreds of peer-reviewed research papers.
According to a Health Ministry announcement on Saturday, the new Committee of Public Health Experts (EEDY) will be a completely separate entity to the current body advising the government on the pandemic, but may have a complimentary role in that it will track new academic studies on SARS-CoV-2 and research into treatments for COVID-19.
Its role is described as not being restricted to the pandemic however, as it will help shape public health policy at a more comprehensive level.
Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and President Katerina Sakellaropoulou praised the men and women serving in the Greek armed forces on Sunday to commemorate Armed Forces Day.
Sakellaropoulou participated in a Doxology at the Church of Agios Dionysios Areopagitos to celebrate the special day and then laid a wreath at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in Athens.
“With feelings of gratitude we celebrate the day of the Armed Forces. We honour those who gave their lives for the homeland, the unknown soldier who sacrificed himself for our freedom, the men and women who defended our national independence by land, sea and air,” the Greek President later wrote on Twitter.
Οι γυναίκες και οι άνδρες των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων υπηρετούν με αυταπάρνηση την πατρίδα σε όλα τα μέτωπα. Ακούραστοι φρουροί της εθνικής ασφάλειας, αλλά και προστάτες της καθημερινής ευημερίας των πολιτών.
For his part, Mitsotakis also released a statement on social media to commemorate Armed Forces Day.
“The men and women of the Armed Forces serve selflessly in all of our country’s fronts! Tireless guardians of our national security, but also guardians of the everyday prosperity of our citizens,” he wrote.
“Your dedication to our national duty fills us with pride! Thank you!”
A poll published in British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, supports arguments for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum to Greece.
56 percent of people who participated in a public opinion poll by pollsters YouGov stated that the Parthenon Marbles, currently on display at the British Museum, should be exhibited in Greece.
Only one in five people (20 percent) said they should remain in the United Kingdom, according to the Telegraph.
The article was penned by the Telegraph’s Associate Editor Gordon Rayner, only a few days after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ London visit, where he raised the issue in his meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Mitsotakis met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
It also comes as Mitsotakis penned his own opinion piece in the UK newspaper “Mail on Sunday,” once again urging Johnson to “seize the moment” to bring the sculptures back home to Greece.
“Now, given the Prime Minister has told me he would not stand in the way of Greece establishing a formal dialogue with the British Museum over the future of the marbles, I can only assume things will be different – that he will not obstruct any future agreement and, instead, the Prime Minister would seek to amend the relevant legislation to allow the sculptures’ return,” Mitsotakis wrote.
“One thing is certain. The ties that bind Greece and the UK go back centuries. Today, that relationship is strong, and it is enduring. But we cannot pretend that it is complete.
Which is why I hope that London and Athens can work together to overturn an injustice that weighs heavy in all Greek hearts.”
“I’m not aiming to advocate, I’m aiming to transform,” author Karen Martin tells the Greek Herald.
“I think sometimes to step forward, we need to have a look back.”
“As a theatre maker or writer, I have that honour, that privilege to do that.”
Karen Martin is an internationally recognised writer and theatre director based in Melbourne.
She has written narratives for the Women’s Circus and is behind shows such as The Women’s Jail Project.
She has contributed to several nonfiction books but is finally making her debut in the booming contemporary women’s fiction genre.
Karen Martin has contributed to several nonfiction books but is finally making her debut in the booming contemporary women’s fiction genre.
Dancing the Labyrinth follows Cressida, a survivor of family violence who finds inspiration in the Minoans, particularly priestess Pythia, who establishes a women’s community.
The book is described as a “celebration of women’s history, courage, friendship, and hope”.
“What Cressida does is really brave. It’s not easy looking at yourself sometimes when you have to go and face your Minotaur. I think that is a really scary thing in life,” Martin says.
Martin first heard about the Minoans during a three-month trip to Crete. Here, she began writing her book.
“Dancing the Labyrinth could never, ever have been written elsewhere but Crete,” she says.
“My husband and I walked over 2000 kilometres in the year we were there.”
“There must be a Greek word that the English does not suffice because… it’s so inspirational.”
yrinth could never, ever have been written elsewhere but Crete,” Karen Martin tells the Greek Herald.
The matriarchal culture of Europe’s most advanced civilisation of the Bronze Age is what caught Martin’s interest.
She says writing about the Minoans in their homeland inspired her creative process.
“Coming across the Minoans was the pot at the end of the rainbow. There is a matriarchal society,” Martin says, recalling that she’d never come across them during her studies in history.
“I’m interested in [women’s] stories because it roots us to our ancestry, our framework, who we are, and where we’ve come from.”
“I think that’s important when we look at [feminist] movements that are happening.”
“So, it doesn’t surprise me that their history formed the basis of the book.”
Dancing the Labyrinth will launch at the Bilingual Bookshop in St Peters on 27 November. Dancing the Labyrinth is available in Greek and English.
What herbs should you start growing in your culinary herb garden?
Consider the 5 most common Mediterranean seasoning herbs to start – they’re not just easy to plant and harvest, either indoors or out in your garden.
BASIL
A critical herb for cuisines around the world and a favorite pairing for tomatoes, basil is easy to grow indoors. Pinch off individual leaves and add to salads, sandwiches and sauce. Make your own pesto. Plant seeds or purchase small plants and pot them in rich, organic potting soil. Basil loves heat and bright light, so give it a southern or western window or use a grow light.
Avoid cool, drafty spots, especially in the winter. Basil is not a long-term houseplant. You can expect to keep and use it for several weeks, until the stems start to grow woody. To ensure a steady supply, plant a new batch of seeds every few weeks.
ROSEMARY
Aromatic rosemary is a small shrub that makes a lovely low hedge. Spreading, low forms such as ‘Blue Lagoon’ and ‘Prostratus’ are wonderful to spill down banks or over walls. ‘Tuscan Blue’ is a rigidly upright form, ideal for harvesting flavoursome barbecue skewers. Rosemary is valued for its blue-mauve winter flowers, but there are pink and white varieties too.
SAGE
You can tell sage is actually a salvia (Salvia officinalis) by looking at the pretty mauve flowers. Worth growing for its looks as well as flavour, it reaches about 50cm high, with silvery grey leaves. There’s a purple-hued form, ‘Purpurascens’, one with yellow variegation, and ‘Tricolour’, which has leaves splashed with green, cream and purple. All are equally edible.
OREGANO AND MARJORAM
These two are closely related and similar in appearance. Marjoram is sweeter and milder, with white flowers in summer, while oregano is bolder and spicier, with pink flowers. There are also golden- and cream-variegated forms of oregano. Both herbs are low, spreading plants, making them ideal as groundcovers.
THYME
The tiny leaves of thyme have intense flavour, which varies from one variety to the next. Most are mat-forming groundcovers, with pretty pink flowers that attract bees. Varieties include caraway, orange peel and woolly thyme. Other types such as pizza thyme, ‘Silver Posy’ and lemon thyme grow to 20cm high.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet addressed multicultural media on Wednesday, November 17, for the first time as the New South Wales leader.
The Premier said the high vaccination rates among teachers will ensure the state keeps schools open.
“The department continues to follow up with less than those two and a half thousand teachers [who are unvaccinated]… across the state,” the Premier said.
“So it will be a challenge, but I don’t think it’s as substantive as it’s being made out.”
The Premier went on to say that schools may have to close during an outbreak, but that it’s “better we have schools open than closed”.
He said he recently discussed the issue of vaccinating children with Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“We’re obviously in [the TGA’s] hands in relation to at what point they deem it appropriate for our younger children to get vaccinated…,” he said.
“We’ll wait and see what the TGA says about the vaccine but I think it’ll promote a lot less disruption to families if children are able to get vaccinated,” NSW Health senior medical advisor Dr. Jan Fizzell added.
Over 80 percent of those aged 12 to 15 have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 73.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet addresses the COVID-19 multicultural media press conference (Screenshot: John Voutos)
Premier Perrottet is optimistic the state will enjoy a holiday period surrounded by family and friends regardless of their vaccination status.
“You’ve had many people separated from their families and friends for a long period of time and everyone’s made enormous sacrifice in that regard.
“So I think Christmas is going to be a time of immense joy.”
Minister for Multiculturalism Natalie Ward confirmed that returning international students will also arrive in Australia “just in time for Christmas”.
“A first flight on the sixth of December will be arriving with about 250 students from over 15 nations…,” she said.
“Then of course, there’ll be a second one just in time for Christmas pairing students from Southeast Asia and India, which is due on the 24th of December.”
Despite the optimism, Perrottet insisted the pandemic is far from over.
“We need to make sure that we continue to just be careful and look out for each other,” he said.
“…I also don’t want to see, as we move forward into the future, a two-tier society but ultimately those who aren’t vaccinated [inaudible] not looking after themselves.”
“We’ve seen the evidence is very, very clear. When you look at the hospitalisation numbers, when you look at those who are in intensive care, it is very much skewed towards those people who have not been vaccinated.”
NSW recorded 216 new cases of COVID-19 and three deaths on Friday.
