The team at RMIT Newintstudents thinks that it is about time to curb homelessness. 1 in 8 students cannot afford to pay for food and other bills after the rent.
So we have thought of an idea: Peer to peer support programs for International students.This could be in terms of assisting students with housing and their rights before they arrive. Meld also supports the idea. RMIT has one such program, known as MATES, but it is not widely supported by students. In fact students use this tiny little office in a difficult to find area in RMIT to find housing.
What I have found in my tenure as being a mentor of the MATES program is that not many students like to use their faculty staff for assistance in finding a place to stay. They'd rather talk to students than to staff
There are many reports which suggest that housing is one of the biggest problems to date. Homelessness isn't just defined to living on the streets. It could also mean staying in friends houses, relatives or couch surfing.
RMIT and possibly other universities may have some empty buildings around. What they could do is make it into housing for students to live in. In 2008 a small number of students squatted in a Melbourne Uni building to highlight the housing shortages and to protest the fact that Melbourne Uni can cater for everyone.
Students should utilize local government services to assist them with housing options as well. If students need some assistance they can also call International care service
So we have thought of an idea: Peer to peer support programs for International students.This could be in terms of assisting students with housing and their rights before they arrive. Meld also supports the idea. RMIT has one such program, known as MATES, but it is not widely supported by students. In fact students use this tiny little office in a difficult to find area in RMIT to find housing.
What I have found in my tenure as being a mentor of the MATES program is that not many students like to use their faculty staff for assistance in finding a place to stay. They'd rather talk to students than to staff
There are many reports which suggest that housing is one of the biggest problems to date. Homelessness isn't just defined to living on the streets. It could also mean staying in friends houses, relatives or couch surfing.
RMIT and possibly other universities may have some empty buildings around. What they could do is make it into housing for students to live in. In 2008 a small number of students squatted in a Melbourne Uni building to highlight the housing shortages and to protest the fact that Melbourne Uni can cater for everyone.
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| This is SHAC. Image courtesy of Shacmelbourne.blogspot.com.au |
Students should utilize local government services to assist them with housing options as well. If students need some assistance they can also call International care service
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