Last week Neighbourhood Matters was at the Sydney Alliance convention. We started up a Sydney Alliance Surry Hills group during the start of the pandemic and together held a storytelling event in our neighbourhood where various people shared about their experiences of Covid. Since then we have kept n touch and continued listening to our neighbourhood to see which voices are not being heard and whether we can join with others in community organising for the common good.
The convention was encouraging in that we could see that there are so many groups across Sydney that are working together for change in their communities. There is power in people getting together to bring about change to systems that need it.
We were part of a discussion group at the convention that was discussing housing affordability. People in the group ranged in ages and also represented different organisations. Each person shared that Covid has made the housing crisis worse and that rising house prices in Sydney means that young people don’t feel they will ever be able to afford a home in this city.
In the convention we:
– Shifted from reacting through the crises of the last two years, to taking proactive steps on our agenda,
– Brought together a diverse agenda through stories of our connected struggles: Walking with First Nations, A City of Dignity, Climate Justice, and Democracy and Belonging,
– Reconnected with each other through the power of stories, recording hundreds of them to start our story map,
– Endorsed the Alliance strategy through a thick stack of commitments made by organisations and individuals,
– Celebrated a milestone for Voices for Power, saying farewell to Thuy and welcoming new organisers.
Neighbourhood Matters was glad to be there and is continuing to look for opportunities to connect Sydney Alliance voices in Surry Hills.
