3 years ago
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF OLDER WOMEN AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS
JASON CLARE MP
Older women are the fastest growing group of homeless Australians.
They are our mums, our sisters, our aunties and our grandmothers.
A report released this week by Housing for the Aged Action Group and Social Ventures Australia revealed around 400,000 women over 45 are at risk of homelessness in Australia.
Another report from Western Sydney University this week found single, older women are also overrepresented amongst the asset poor in Australia, and this will only get worse in the next decade as the number of older Australians who rent increases.
Both projects found older women are more likely to be at risk of homelessness if they:
They are our mums, our sisters, our aunties and our grandmothers.
A report released this week by Housing for the Aged Action Group and Social Ventures Australia revealed around 400,000 women over 45 are at risk of homelessness in Australia.
Another report from Western Sydney University this week found single, older women are also overrepresented amongst the asset poor in Australia, and this will only get worse in the next decade as the number of older Australians who rent increases.
Both projects found older women are more likely to be at risk of homelessness if they:
- have been at risk before
- are not employed full-time
- are an immigrant from a non-English-speaking country
- are in private rental housing
- would have difficulty raising emergency funds
- are Indigenous
- are a lone-person household
- are a lone parent (but little evidence for those never married).
The high cost of housing and a severe shortage of social housing only make this problem worse.
That’s why Labor is calling on the Morrison Government to invest in more social housing. It will create work for tradies and homes for people who need them.
That’s why Labor is calling on the Morrison Government to invest in more social housing. It will create work for tradies and homes for people who need them.