Inspired by The Eagles
2 May 2024
Not a phrase you hear too often these days in Perth, although the West Coast Eagles have improved of late. But we are not referring to AFL Eagles, so Dockers fans, you can read on, and if you’re a follower of the West Coast Eagles, maybe you could use as much inspiration as you can get, so read on too.
Most people would vouch for the capacity for music to inspire. We were recently very fortunate to partner with the amazing people at Mega Music who donated a whole load of musical equipment. We are passionate at St Bart’s about creating pathways and opportunities for the people we support to help them to live their best life. We also have some very talented staff who are generous with their time and talents too, so when we recently set up our first impromptu jamming session in Lime Street’s outdoor yarning circle, we were blown away, literally, by the volume and enthusiasm of so many people getting involved.
We have around 140 people living at Lime Street through our Future Homes, Aged Care and Community Housing services, so random noise is a constant soundtrack. But there’s no noise like that of a music festival kicking off in your front yard. And what a beautiful noise it was. One of our residents talked about his younger days touring around New Zealand with his band, others mentioned playing guitar years ago and now they had an opportunity, without judgement to give it another go. Everyone has talent because we are all human with something to express but we don’t all get the conditions or the opportunity to realise that talent. What is clear from our experience at St Bart’s is that where opportunities and pathways are presented, talent will flourish.
One song that really captured everyone in the moment was a rendition of the Eagles ‘Hotel California’. It’s an all-time classic that everyone seemed to be able to sing along to. One of the most enigmatic lines of the song is the last line, “You can check out anytime you like but you just can never leave”. There have been many interpretations of the meaning intended in that line, but in the context of hearing it sung here, you can draw a parallel with the worst housing crisis we’ve ever seen.
Anglicare Australia recently released their Rental Affordability snapshot. The findings are breathtakingly awful for people on the minimum wage, with affordability halving for a single person in the last two years. Even couples with both partners working full-time are locked out of nearly 90 percent of rentals. People on Centrelink payments are being pushed out of housing altogether. A person on the age or disability support pensions can afford less than 1 percent of rentals. For a person out of work, it’s 0 percent. If the Government doesn’t take action in the next Budget, this crisis will only get worse and with no access to affordable long term, stable housing, if you live in short term, transitional accommodation, you could be forgiven for thinking that ‘you just can never leave’.
But we live in hope, miracles do happen, after all, no one thought the Eagles would beat the Dockers. To quote another Eagles song:
Do something
It’s not over
No, it’s never too late
St Bart’s acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land that we live and work on, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation. We are privileged to work with, and alongside, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and encourage those who are emerging as leaders.
St Bart’s is committed to diversity and inclusion in all its forms. We welcome and support the health and wellbeing of all people, regardless of background, age, ethnicity, religion and gender identity.