[Reuben]

405,000 older women around Australia are at risk of homelessness. Even more will join them in facing everyday stress keeping the rent payed, food on the table and the lights on, until politicians take real action to fix the broken housing system.

But we refuse to just be another statistic. Our stories of ending up in housing stress and homelessness – or how we escaped, matter. We need politicians to treat us as human beings, not numbers. We need them to know that we are their mothers, fathers, grandmothers, uncles, neighbours.

We will keep telling them our stories until they wake up and pay attention. So here is a place to share your story. HAAG will collate these stories into a message we will send to federal politicians and candidates. If you don’t wish for your story to be shared just say so – or post it on another topic in this website.

 

[Wendy]

My story:

I’m a Mother, Grandmother and….. soon to be Great Grandmother!

After taking time out of the paid workforce to raise 4 children, I left a dysfunctional marriage and the family home in a small country town 25 years ago.

I left without any household goods or a car.

After a property settlement I was able to by a car and some household goods. I was aged 50 and did not have enough money to consider buying a house.

Since then my housing story is having lived in the private rental system for 20 years while working full time as a librarian. I have had to move 11 times due to rent rises, and the selling of my rentals. The physical, mental and financial stress of having to move so many times can not be over estimated. Having to find at least $2,000 for each move, plus the disruption to my established social networks and working life have been crucial elements affecting my overall health.

I am now retired and living on a government pension. I still live in insecure rental housing (a very tiny granny flat that, thanks to a kind landlord, is just affordable) and am active with volunteer work in the community. I am passionate about the issue of older women who have found themselves in similar situations to myself and am working with Not for Profit Groups to remedy this wicked housing crisis.

 

[rentalasanything]

My story:

I am a 55 year old woman who lives alone with my cat. She is a great comfort as like many I am under housing stress and am quite isolated with it (apart from the support from HAAG of course).

In my youth I suffered from ill health which meant my work life was sporadic at best. I was therefore moving from place to place and felt very alienated, like I didn’t fit in anywhere.

I never married or had children and it was after 40 that I came out as part of the LGBTIQ+ community. I had a public service job but had a breakdown in the lockdown and can’t afford my rent.

[Author]

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