A forum will be held at Tuggerah in March to tackle housing stress on the Central Coast, especially for women aged over 55, who are the fastest growing sector of homeless people.
Housing stress is measured by the amount of money spent on housing as part of income, said a spokesperson for the Elderslee Foundation, which is running the forum.
“It leads to people missing meals and medicines, failing to pay bills, including rent and mortgage payments, and having to move and leave their communities and social support networks,” he said.
“In June 2020, on the Central Coast, only 22 out of 538 available rental properties were affordable to those in the very low income bracket.
“When we know how important it is to have a home, these statistics should shake us all up and urge us to make a difference.
“Especially so, when we find out that older women, aged 55 or more, are the fastest growing cohort of homeless people.
“This terrible situation is because of movements in the housing market, forcing prices up, higher than the increases to wages and fixed incomes, making housing out of reach for too many people.”
The Elderslee Foundation recognised that this dire situation had no obvious plan to fix it, so has supported the formation of Action on Housing Older Women.
Their first step is to hold an event to increase awareness and understanding of older women’s homelessness, to identify potential solutions for the Central Coast and to bring people together to share their interest in taking action.
The forum, Creating Collaborative Housing Solutions will be held on Wednesday, March 10, at Elderslee@Tuggerah, 2/160-162 Pacific Hwy, Tuggerah.
Speakers and the audience will develop a shared understanding of the nature of older women’s homelessness and evidence based approaches to solutions.
Source:
Media release, Feb 11
Elderslee Foundation