Public Housing: 90 Years of Home, Community, and Opportunity

Public Housing: 90 Years of Home, Community and Opportunity

This December marks 90 years of the South Australian Housing Trust.

For nine decades, public housing has provided homes, stability and opportunity for generations of South Australians, and has helped build communities across our state. This anniversary is a chance to celebrate that history, hear the stories of the people who have lived it, and imagine what public housing could become over the next 90 years, and how we can fight for that vision.

Join us for a day of stories, history, conversation, creativity, and connection at Yitpi Yartapuultiku in Port Adelaide.

We’ll bring together current and former public housing tenants, people who grew up in public housing, people on the housing waitlist, Aboriginal community members, migrants, workers and unions, historians, researchers, artists, housing advocates, and others who care about the future of public housing.

Across the day we'll explore questions including:

What has public housing meant to the people who have lived in it?

How has public housing shaped South Australian communities?

Who has benefited from public housing, and who has been left out?

What can the history of the Housing Trust teach us about the housing crisis today?

What should public housing look like for the next 90 years, and how can we fight for that vision?

The day will include lived-experience stories, historical presentations, panel discussions, photo-voice, creative work, community storytelling, and opportunities to share your own experiences and ideas.

We'll celebrate the homes, families, friendships, gardens, streets and communities that make up the human story of public housing.

And we'll look forward. South Australia needs more public housing, and the next 90 years should be about building a public housing system that meets the needs of the communities it serves.

Come along for the history. Stay for the stories. Help imagine the future, and let's fight for it.