Homelessness grows for older women aged 55+

The Women’s Electoral Lobby has called on Commonwealth and State governments to respond Australia’s homelessness crisis for women, who are often invisible and amongst the poorest and most vulnerable of those experiencing homelessness. Older women aged 55 and over are the fastest growing cohort of homeless people, with numbers increasing by 31% between 2011 and 2016. This trend is expected to continue unless social housing provision is expanded, given the gap in men’s and women’s lifetime wealth accumulation.