Resilience stretched but progress made As Chair Michael Mackenzie-Shreenan reports, it’s been a bumpy ride through a period of change. am pleased to present the annual report for financial year 2020-2021. This report provides an overview of how the ISV team has travelled through what has been a volatile year. It also provides an insight into financial performance, current challenges, and future plans. The words uncertainty, frustration, fear, and anger may best describe the feelings many of us faced this year. However, so do the words resilience, passion, hope, and progress. In that regard, I thank all staff, current and past, for their contributions to our collective achievements.
I 4 ISV ANNUAL REPORT 20202021
I want to pay tribute to our long-standing EO, Charmaine Jones, who retired on medical grounds following a decade of outstanding service. Charmaine's leadership, raw energy, and strong advocacy for our sector and the communities we serve will be madly missed. I also thank Claire McAteer, whose leadership helped us through this period of change, and extend that appreciation to Gretchen Young who has joined the ISV team for six months to oversee management recruitment and assist the board in reviewing its strategic road map. Sadly, this year, we said goodbye to Tracy Hamilton following the successful end of the Get Ready for Flood Social Housing Sector Project — which led to Tracy becoming a member of the NSW Government’s resilience team. The continued sector support, capacity building, advocacy, and information our team has given to TEI-funded agencies and Commonwealth Housing Support Providers has been essential work and highly valued. Our involvement in developing a Waterloo human service plan and our support of local residents' action groups across Inner Sydney has ensured that ISV’s advocacy has remained community-led and responsive to circumstances on the ground. However, staff turnover, decreased resources, rising costs, and a pandemic have presented challenges — and will do so into the future. With this in mind, the board is committed to developing an updated road map to be completed by December 2021. The road map will explore income generation and cost-savings options. It will also consider the feasibility and suitability of exploring a merger — but only if it will bring about the best outcomes for ISV. Strategies will be developed through consultation with stakeholders and members with recommendations to be tabled by next year's AGM. I thank our members, funders, and my fellow board members for their ongoing support. As lockdowns ease, the recovery of our communities and our sector will be ISV’s primary focus. I am confident that with the right strategy, leadership and resourcing, ISV can continue to grow, adapt, and provide first-class backbone support wherever we can.
