In a statement to the agencies the Groundswell coalition indicated that:
We would like agencies working in Redfern and Waterloo to consider
joining the Coalition. This provides for a wide base of organisations
supporting residents and takes some pressure off tenant support services
specifically funded by Housing NSW that have been absorbing much of the
pressure from government and residents to date.
Agencies joining the coalition should be prepared to work with other
agencies around the prime focus of supporting and or resourcing Redfern
and Waterloo residents. Decisions about support programs coming from the
Groundswell discussions with tenants and where they might be best
auspiced are to be decided by the Coalition.
The initial Groundswell material was issued without the details of the agencies who were part of the organisations who decided to form the coalition. The statement to agencies said:
You will also notice that we have not added the names of organisations
to this initial leaflet. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly we
thought the idea should go out without people judging it by what they
think about the names of the organisations on the list. Secondly we
wanted to provide the opportunity to other organisations working in the
area to join the coalition or add their support before a list is made
public.
A list of the coalition members is expected to be released following the next meeting of the coalition when all agencies that want to be involved have had the chance to indicate their interest.
Different agencies have different ways of deciding on their involvement. For REDWatch the decision to join the coalition was taken to its monthly members meeting.