Inner West Citizen of the Year co-winner Liz Yeo on her community work in Newtown

By ERIN MODARO

The Inner West Council has recently awarded its 2022 Citizens of the Year awards to Indigenous Activist Cheree Toka and Newtown community leader Liz Yeo. The awards ceremony was held last week at the Ashfield Town Hall, celebrating and thanking the winners’ contributions to the Inner West.

Yeo was CEO of the the Newtown Neighborhood Centre for many years, and has given countless hours to the Newtown community. She has a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Sydney University and a Masters in Adult Education from UTS, and started out working with in youth homelessness. Yeo assisted many after a fire broke out at a Newtown boarding house earlier in the year, claiming three lives.

City Hub asked Yeo some questions about her work in the Newtown Community:

You’ve worked in the community sector for 30 years now- how do you feel about receiving a citizen’s award from a community you’ve worked so hard to help out? 

It is definitely a huge honour – although one you want to share with all the people you have worked with, as I really do see this as a team effort.  I was particularly thrilled to be a joint recipient alongside Cheree Toka.  I remember when Cheree first started her campaign to get the Aboriginal flag flying on the Harbour Bridge!

What do you enjoy most about being active in the community, and lending support to those in need? 

I have always been driven by wanting to make a positive difference, particularly for those doing it most tough.  Living and working in Newtown meant that on a daily basis I came into contact with everyone from board members to people sleeping rough. I was often struck by their generosity and resilience given very tough circumstances.  For example, I remember one day when a gentleman who had been selling scarves on King St came into the Centre to donate the money he had collected to our Sleepout fundraiser.

What type of support did you lend to those who were affected by the boarding house fire in Newtown?

Newtown Neighbourhood Centre was the first place the surviving residents came to following the fire, and they kept coming back every day.  The Centre provided them with a safe place to be when they had nowhere to go, and our staff and volunteers offered immediate practical and emotional support. We also responded to the community’s concern by setting up an immediate fundraiser so locals could donate to support the survivors.

Can you describe what you love about Newtown, and why you’ve given so much of your time for the people who live there? 

There is so much I love about Newtown.  I came here in the 1980s when I studied Social Work at Sydney Uni and I have never left. I have always loved the quirky characters and the general vibe of the place.  Its obviously changed a lot since then, and like many inner city areas there is a big disparity in the wealth of some and the relative poverty of others – particularly those who are living in Boarding Houses across the inner west.  I wanted to play a leadership role in my own community to ensure that Newtown continued to protect this unique diversity, despite the growing gentrification of the area.

What are you up to in the community currently, and what are your plans for the future?

I have just started a new role with the Paul Ramsay Foundation.  While this is different to what I have been doing over the last 7 years it is a unique opportunity to work on the philanthropy side which provides funding for programs which are trying to reduce the cycles of disadvantage in our community. I also continue to Chair the Board of Shelter NSW, the peak housing policy and advocacy body in NSW.  I hope to continue to bring the perspectives and insights I have gained from my time in a local community working at grassroots level to addressing the systemic issues that affect so many peoples lives.