The Vibe came up when we spoke with over 300 people at the Newtown Markets in May last year. The majority of them talked about how they loved the quirkiness, diversity and acceptance of Newtown.
We held a public meeting in July where over 150 people shared their sense that the Vibe was changing in Newtown. Many community members attributed the change to the flow-on effect of the lockout laws which were resulting in much larger numbers of people coming into Newtown late at night, with increased reports of antisocial behaviour.
Then came the establishment of the Vibe Roundtable – a collaboration between the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre (NNC), the local member for Newtown, Jenny Leong, the local Councils, Business Precinct, and community members, all joining with a shared purpose of “protecting the Newtown Vibe”.
It’s been exciting to see the way these forums have led to positive action to address community concerns. We want to keep Newtown vibrant, open, weird and safe. We want it to be a place where people can go out late at night and not be subject to abuse or harassment for any reason.
Some of the initiatives coming out of the Vibe Roundtable have included advocacy to try and improve public transport options, the establishment of night-time taxi ranks on King Street, and safer bars training for bar staff.
Recently the City of Sydney has supported a new initiative being run by the NNC called Friday Night Vibes, which aims to help people kick off their night in Newtown in a fun and relaxed way – in the spirit of Newtown. The event will promote Newtown’s diversity and quirkiness, while also supporting and showcasing our fantastic creative artists.
The band we had on our first Friday night, the Cruisin Deuces, were guys who grew up here and went to the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. They kicked off the program with a fantastic couple of hours of rockabilly music. It was impossible to walk past without smiling.
City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said: “Newtown has a long history of live performance, and Friday Night Vibes is a fantastic way to build on this strength in an inclusive setting. The City is working to develop a strong, sophisticated and diverse night-time economy for Sydney, and initiatives like Friday Night Vibes are a big part of that.
“We want to give people variety – places to go for a drink or a meal, or simply to gather with other people. We want the city to be appealing to every age group and demographic, and we want it to be safe. Giving people the opportunity to get together to listen to some music and relax before they head out is a fantastic way to achieve that.”
By welcoming people as they arrive in Newtown, with flowers and popcorn, NNC’s “Newtopian” volunteers are helping to reinforce the message that people are welcome here, and we want them to have fun, while also respecting what this area is about.
The Friday Night Vibes program is initially running for eight weeks from 6-8pm, until Friday April 1. Updated information about the program for each night is available on our website www.newtowncentre.org/fri-night-vibes.html and you can also keep in touch by liking the Facebook page or signing up to the event page. Each week there will be local performers – musicians and artists, and an opportunity to meet local “makers” who will be part of a small suitcase market.
Protecting the Newtown Vibe is part of our broader purpose at Newtown Neighbourhood Centre. We want to work with the community to create Newtopia – a place where there is justice, inclusion, action and fun. It’s a place that’s not perfect, and that’s why we love it.
One of the things we think also threatens the Vibe of Newtown is the increasing lack of affordable housing and the growing number of people who are homeless. In 2011, the NSW Census found there were almost 30,000 homeless people across the state and this is expected to increase due to the housing crisis.
On any given day, at least 10 people who are at risk of homelessness come to Newtown Neighbourhood Centre looking for help. They may be dealing with domestic violence, drug or alcohol addiction, and/or various mental health issues. We are seeing growing numbers of people seeking our assistance. In response to this we established a First Response program last year. Thanks to the generous donation of $10,000 raised by the Newtown Locals at Newtown Festival 2015, combined with the generosity of Newtown Festival goers, we have been able to continue the First Response program until June this year. If not for this support, the program would have closed last year.
Erica Rees, First Response Homelessness Worker, said: “Sometimes all it takes to get somebody a place to live is to simply take the time to get to know them and write a letter of support. Often it takes more, but either way we give them a plan and a sense of hope during what can be a very frightening time.”
While our First Response program can’t solve the housing crisis, we can at least help individuals get on a pathway to a better living situation. In addition to this we are looking at how we can work with our community to develop local initiatives to address the challenge of housing in this area. We are all too familiar with the very real concerns around housing, but we want to look at how we can bring members of the community together to think about what ideas or initiatives might be possible. We want to play some small part in addressing the problem.
In the meantime we are exploring whether the community would like to continue to support the First Response program through a Chuffed crowdfunding campaign. We need $80,000 per year to run the service and to keep people from sleeping rough.
We know that people are noticing a rise in the number of people living on the street and it’s making them uneasy not knowing what they can do. Contributing to First Response is one way to take local action – supporting NNC as a local organisation with almost 40 years experience working directly with people who are doing it most tough in our community.
Being part of a local action group to look at creative initiatives for tackling the problem is another way of doing something. If you are interested in being involved in any way we would love to hear from you!
