We acknowledge that we live, host and learn on what was, is and always will be Wurundjeri Woiwurrung land.
IHH News | Term 1 | 2025
Welcome to our newest housemate:
Djuran Bunjilinee! Uncle Robbie Thorpe
It is with warmth and gratitude that we welcome legendary activist, Elder, and friend Uncle Robbie Thorpe to the IHH home. His expert advice and staunch pride in his culture will greatly benefit the Indigenous families and patients who we offer accommodation to, as well as our own ability to provide culturally safe care as a service.
Uncle Robbie’s knowledge of community care and health is deeply anti-colonial, and connected to his family and culture. His mother Dr. Aunty Alma Thorpe and grandmother Edna Brown founded the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service in Gertrude St, Fitzroy in 1973. The pillars of the health service were sovereignty; self determination; community control and land rights, principles which we recognise today as foundational to Indigenous health on this continent, and which Uncle Robbie has embodied for his entire life. Aunty Alma also established Koori Kollij, a community controlled health worker education program. These were huge steps in First Nations people being able to access healthcare with support against the discrimination and racism that is systemic within the mainstream health system.
Learn, donate and get updates about Uncle Robbie’s ongoing legal action against the British colonisers at https://crimesceneaustralia.com.
2025 has started off blazing at the Indigenous Hospitality House!
The home has been buzzing over the past two months. We’ve had back-to-back referrals from local hospitals and rural health co-ops around the continent, welcoming guests from Queensland, Western Australia, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. 33 guests stayed with us in Term 1, for a total of 137 nights.
We’ve heard from many of our guests that the IHH has been a place where they feel at home while visiting this bustling, sometimes overwhelming city, often while missing home and loved ones. We are reminded of the importance of place, community and connection to Country, and how this is a major determinant of health and wellbeing.
Being so booked out, however, we have unfortunately had to turn away over a dozen First Nations families this term. This highlights the desperate need for more affordable housing and accommodation services in Narrm/Melbourne. Lack of crisis accommodation options for Mob can have devastating effects, both mentally and physically.
We are constantly reminded of the need for all levels of community to support each other, whether through supporting grassroots initiatives, advocating within institutional organisations or petitioning the government for change. After the powerful truth-telling of the Yoorrook commission, we hope that institutions of colonisation and government will hear the calls for justice, reparations and sovereignty; and how these underpin our communities' health. However, we won’t hold our breath, we know we can and must respond now.
Defy the occupation
Recently, our housemate Ben played Yidaki and supported Uncle Robbie’s performance at the epic Kneecap gig. Kneecap is a hip-hop group from Belfast who are reviving the Gaelic language in their lyrics. The show connected First Nations liberation with Irish resistance against colonialism and the British Empire. They performed in front of a banner created by Aretha Brown calling on us all to defy the occupation.
We hear and honour the cries for a Free Palestine, to stop the murder of children and families living under the occupation of Israel in Palestine. We commit to standing in solidarity to dismantle imperial powers across the world and to empower First Nations people on this land against the colony.
DEFY THE OCCUPATION (artist: ARETHA BROWN)
Frontier wars screening
The IHH stands in solidarity against the vile acts of racism and hate towards Kulin Nations Elders and First Nations communities over ANZAC day weekend.
Next Thursday (the 8th of May) we're hosting a screening and discussion about the Frontier Wars, celebrating First Nations storytellers and warriors. Dinner and yarns from Uncle Robbie and Ben Moodie will be followed by screenings including Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky, and Uncle Robbie's choice, Women of the Sun.
Join us from 7pm as we reflect on the history, strength and determination of Indigenous resistance to colonisation and genocide.
Join the IHH!
We have an exciting opportunity to come and be part of the home at the IHH by becoming a housemate, also known as a resident volunteer!
Check out our post on Instagram if you’d like to know more about becoming a housemate, or email us to apply.
Supporting our work:
Now accepting volunteers
We'd love help with covering our dinner shifts! These run from 6-9pm every week night, and involve teaming up with one of our residents to cook dinner for residents and guests. We have a volunteer WhatsApp where we call out for help during busy periods, or organise swaps if someone can't make their shift. We welcome your help weekly, monthly, or however often suits you. Get in touch if you're interested!
Donating to us
The IHH relies on the donations of time, money and material items from the broader IHH community. If you believe in the work we do and would like to contribute, financial donations would be much appreciated. Click the link below to set up a once off or recurring donation.
All donations are tax deductible.
There are also material items that are helpful, such as:
cooking oil (olive oil in particular)
lean meat for the freezer (eg. sausages, chops, mince, stirfry pieces, chicken, kangaroo)
low-suds laundry powder (suitable for a front-end loader)
shampoo and conditioner
tissues
paper towel
dishwashing liquid
Contact us if you'd like to make a time to drop things around.
Need to get in contact?
Feel free to email us, call us (9387 7557), or connect with our social media below.
IHH residents Uncle Robbie, Hazel, Tilly, Matti, Tom and Ben share a house in Carlton North, on unceded Wurundjeri Woiwurrung country, where we host Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander folks who need to come to Narrm to access health services. Since our project started in 2001 we've hosted over 2000 hospital guests.
