A disused aged care facility at East Gosford has been transformed into a 14-room transitional housing facility for displaced older women under an innovative partnership between the NSW Government, Pacific Link Housing (PLH) and Women’s Community Shelters (WCS).
Allawah House, purchased in 2021 by local developer BEA Projects, has been made available to PLH and WCS via local social enterprise real estate agency Key2 Realty, temporarily and at low cost, for the purpose of providing affordable housing to older women at risk of homelessness.
Minister for Women’s Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence, Natalie Ward, said the vacant site had been given a new lease of life.
“Rather than remaining vacant and unused, this site has been transformed into a new facility that will provide wrap-around support for women aged 55 and older who are escaping domestic and family violence or who are at risk of homelessness,” Ward said.
Minister for Families and Communities, Natasha Maclaren-Jones, said the facility will provide transitional accommodation for women for up to 36 months while more permanent housing was being secured for the occupants.
“This initiative is a great example of how unused private buildings can be put to good use to benefit vulnerable people at risk of homelessness and provide DFV escapees with a safe place to heal as they begin to rebuild their lives,” Maclaren-Jones said.
The NSW Government provided $300,000 to develop the facility as part of the Domestic and Family Violence National Partnership Agreement 2021-23.
Spearheaded by the Sydney based Women’s Community Shelters (WCS), the partnership agreement allows for the premises to be used as a women’s shelter for up to three years.
WCS CEO, Simone Parsons, said there is a high number of older women experiencing homelessness and at risk of homelessness in NSW.
“Affordable and stable housing is important to help women re-establish their lives post violence, especially for older women,” Parsons said.
“Through this partnership additional housing is being supplied.
“WCS will also provide residents with case management support and coordinate community engagement and wellbeing activities as well on-site support services.”
Pacific Link CEO, Ian Lynch, said his organisation was proud to partner with like-minded organisations willing to take an innovative approach to support women escaping domestic and family violence.
“Now that refurbishment work is complete, the first group of new tenants are readying to move in,” he said.
“Each tenant will receive a refurbished studio apartment and the site has also been fitted out with communal lounges, kitchens, laundry facilities and gardens.”
Lynch said the last Census revealed that the number of older women experiencing homelessness increased by 31 per cent between 2011 and 2016.
“According to Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG), however, those captured in Census and Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) data represent the tip of the iceberg, with an estimated 110,000 women over 45 years of age at risk of homelessness in NSW alone,” he said.
“These figures demonstrate the critical need for greater investment in social and affordable housing and targeted approaches to support older women.
“Allawah House is an example of ‘meanwhile use’; an innovative housing model that utilises vacant property that may be earmarked for future redevelopment, for the purpose of providing a social benefit.”
WCS will provide residents with case management support and coordinate community engagement and wellbeing activities, while PLH will take responsibility for property and tenancy management.
PLH will also provide assistance to identify long term affordable housing pathways for Allawah House residents coming out of the transitional housing arrangement throughout the program.
Terry Collins