Reports

Australia needs to urgently address the rapidly increasing problem facing large numbers of older people, the majority women, at risk of homelessness. As a ‘new’ cohort with many specific factors such as age, gender, first time homelessness and economic disadvantage as the cause, there is a need for uniquely tailored early intervention strategies to prevent homelessness for this group to avoid later life complexities at great cost.

This proposal recommends the introduction of a national Seniors Housing Gateway (SHG) Program at a cost of $9.6 million to urgently respond to the rapid increase of vulnerable older people at risk of homelessness and assisting them to navigate their way to a housing solution.

Read the Seniors Housing Gateway Proposal Here

The purpose of this report is to ascertain whether or not the VHR is working as it intended in regards to the process of receiving community housing offers in the case of HAAG’s cohort of older people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. HAAG’s housing workers house approximately 7 people per month in social housing - an umbrella term to mean public housing which is owned by government, and community housing which is owned or managed by not for profit community housing providers. Our workers mainly utilise the VHR and use our contacts and networks within community housing providers to house our clients. In practice though, how many of our clients are being housed in community housing through each process? Has the VHR simplified it and made the process more transparent in relation to community housing providers and how they offer vacancies? This is something the introduction of the VHR aimed to address and this report will focus on.

See the full report here

Older single women are the fastest growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness and most of them have never been homeless before. This paper identifies the underlying systemic and compounding causes of older women’s homelessness, examines the devastating impact of gendered economic inequality and the key policy areas that require attention.

"There has been increasing awareness of the statistics of women aged 55 and over experiencing homelessness in Victoria and Australia more broadly. The 2014 report ‘Older Women’s Pathways Out of Homelessness in Australia’ found that women in this age group may have limited superannuation, minimal work experience and potentially inadequate financial literacy from time unemployed due to caring responsibilities and unpaid labour. Therefore many older single women may be living off welfare payments with minimal savings while renting in the unaffordable and unsustainable private rental market. The 2014 report states that older women are more likely to be the ‘invisible homeless’, both physically and statistically; more likely to couch surf, live in their car or at home under threat of violence than be sleeping rough.    This physical and statistical invisibility means that appropriate and specific services, support, referrals and housing are minimal. It also means on a policy level there is limited government understanding of what is needed to not only support older women out of homelessness, but prevent homelessness or housing instability occurring in the first place. "

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