Over the fence - Tenant news

Local Portland resident Christopher Chapman has won the competition to rename the residential newsletter Tenant News.

“I live in a housing area and once or twice a week, I have a chat with our neighbours over the fence. We have a yarn and catch up on all the local gossip.

“On one particular day I was doing some work on the car and having a chat when, I thought that would be a great name for the newsletter,” Mr Chapman said.

The new name - Over the Fence - is the latest change to the recently revamped newsletter which keeps Victoria's public housing tenants up to date with news about housing initiatives and policy changes, and provides important information about living in public housing.

Feature from the latest edition - Tip: Keep your cool this summer

With summer almost here there are many things that you can do to stay cool, especially as the day time temperatures combine with hotter than average nights.

On a hot day make sure you:

• Drink plenty of water and fluids (avoid alcohol) (Note: If your doctor normally limits your fluids or you are on fluid tablets, you may need to check how much to drink while the weather is hot)
• Take a cool shower or bath
• Wear loose-fitting clothing, preferably cotton and of a light colour
• Check on older, sick and frail people who may need help coping with the heat
• Don’t rely on fans unless there is adequate ventilation and in the evening open windows and use fans to create a cross-breeze
• Close your blinds and curtains during the day to block the sun
• Know the signs and symptoms of excessive heat exposure and know how to respond

And if you are outside make sure you slip, slop, slap by using sunscreen, wearing a hat, covering exposed skin and drink plenty of fluids frequently.

Read more stories in the October 2009 tenant newsletter Over the fence:

 October 2009 Over the fence newsletter (Word Size 134KB, Pages 11) |  October 2009 Over the fence newsletter (PDF Size 2MB, Pages 8)

The newsletter is also available in the following nine languages:

 Arabic (Word Size 168KB, Pages 11) |  Arabic (PDF Size 209KB, Pages 11)

 Croatian (Word Size 176KB, Pages 10) |  Croatian (PDF Size 141KB, Pages 10)

 Polish (Word Size 150KB, Pages 10) |  Polish (PDF Size 131KB, Pages 10)

 Russian (Word Size 39KB, Pages 12) |  Russian (PDF Size 163KB, Pages 12)

 Somali (Word Size 136KB, Pages 10) |  Somali (PDF Size 57KB, Pages 10)

 Spanish (Word Size 163KB, Pages 10) |  Spanish (PDF Size 56KB, Pages 10)

 Traditional Chinese (Word Size 111KB, Pages 10) |  Traditional Chinese (PDF Size 157KB, Pages 9)

 Turkish (Word Size 160KB, Pages 9) |  Turkish (PDF Size 198KB, Pages 9)

 Vietnamese (Word Size 205KB, Pages 10) |  Vietnamese (PDF Size 155KB, Pages 10)