A new partnership between Scalabrini Communities and Australian-Filipino Community Services (AFCS) is creating more than just a place to stay for Filipino seniors in Sydney, it is creating a place to feel connected, supported and at home.
The new Filipino share home in Bexley, located alongside Scalabrini’s existing residential aged care community, will provide temporary accommodation for Filipino seniors who need a safe and welcoming place to stay.
Residents will be able to stay at the home for between six and twelve months, while the property will also serve as a community drop-in space where local Filipino seniors can access culturally specific support, activities and opportunities to connect, whether they live at the home or not.
More than a Roof over Someone’s Head
At the heart of the partnership is a shared belief that housing for older people should recognise the importance of culture, language, faith and community.
Scalabrini has provided the Bexley property, while AFCS will operate the services and community support offered from the home. The initiative also builds on Scalabrini’s growing involvement in seniors affordable housing in Bexley.
For Adam Woods, our Chief Community and Innovation Officer at Scalabrini Communities, the home represents an important step towards creating more culturally responsive housing options for independent seniors.
“We hope this is just the start. Culturally specific housing for independent seniors is something we are genuinely passionate about at Scalabrini. It is not enough to offer a roof. Older people deserve a place where their language, their food and their faith are part of daily life, not an afterthought.”
Supporting Filipino Seniors in NSW
The opening is also an important milestone for AFCS, marking the organisation’s first expansion outside Victoria and extending its culturally specific aged care and community support into New South Wales.
AFCS CEO Corina Dutlow said the organisation was delighted to bring its Filipino Charity House model to Sydney.
“We are thrilled to open the ‘Filipino Charity House’ in Bexley, the first of its kind in NSW. Our successful Filipino Charity Houses in Victoria has brought the community together with warm open doors and a homely space to connect and support each other. We look forward to growing our support services to the Filipino community in Sydney.”
AFCS provides culturally appropriate aged care services, social support, short-term accommodation, case work, counselling, food relief and community activities that celebrate and share Filipino culture.
Creating Communities Where People can Belong
The Bexley share home forms part of Scalabrini’s broader exploration of new housing and community models that respond to the cultural and generational needs of migrant communities, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach to ageing and care.
For Scalabrini, it reflects a simple but important idea: where we live should be somewhere we can continue to be ourselves.
By working alongside trusted community organisations such as AFCS, we hope to create more opportunities for older people to remain connected to the language, traditions, food, faith and communities that have shaped their lives.
The new Bexley home is an exciting beginning and one we hope can inspire more culturally responsive housing and community partnerships in the future.
Because feeling at home is about much more than having a place to live. It is about having a place where you belong.
