By Meg Hocking
At 73, Edith* should have been enjoying her retirement. Instead, she found herself homeless, living in a campervan in isolated bushland with no electricity or running water.
“It was the first time in my life I was actually frightened,” she says.
“It’s a sense of hopelessness. You don’t know what to do or where to go. If it wasn’t for Uniting Vic.Tas … I don’t know what I would have done.”
Unable to secure work due to her age, Edith lived off an aged-care pension that barely covered her basic needs. She was unable to afford a private rental.
“You go to a real estate agent to see if you can rent somewhere — anything, something cheap you can afford. And they just look at you as though you’re crazy,” she says.
“The minute they find out you’re on a pension, you’re looked at as though ‘just forget it’.”
Sadly, Edith is not alone in her experience.
Older women have become the fastest growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness in Australia, with more than 400,000 over 45 at risk. That represents more than 165,000 women aged 45-54 and 240,000 women aged over 55 teetering on the edge of homelessness. Most of these women have never been homeless before.
A lack of superannuation, unaffordable rental markets and gender pay gaps compound, leaving women at greater risk.
Edith’s age, income and poor health made the harsh realities of homelessness even more pronounced. She struggled to afford food, get the healthcare she needed, fight off loneliness and survive summer and winter’s cruel weather.
“There were bad storms in the middle of winter,” she says. “Gale force winds, floods, water over my ankles … I’m going to cry … I don’t want that kind of life for anybody.”
Uniting’s Street2Home team in Ballarat found Edith while doing outreach work in the region. Operating across Ballarat and Wimmera regions, the teams actively go out into the community, seeking those in need of support who are sleeping rough, living in their cars or experiencing instability without a permanent home.
Street2Home Outreach Worker, Luke, says it took the team some time to build Edith’s trust.
“A lot of people have lost trust in services and processes,” he says. “So, building rapport allows us to get to know the person, get to know the situation and help where needed, even when they’re not as forthcoming.”
Edith calls the Street2Home van “magical”, turning up with food, warm clothes and care when she needed it most (image is an actor representation).
For Edith this support was vital.
“I got to know them”, she says. “They were so nice. They were compassionate. Nothing was any trouble. They were always offering me something. Sometimes food or comfort. They gave me a lot of hope.
“I knew I could talk to them if I had a worry or I just needed to talk. And when they said that they might be able to find me housing, I trusted them that they might be able to do that.”
Edith had given up on public housing because she’d been told there was an eight-year waiting list. But the Street2Home team helped her fill out a Victorian Housing Register application. They advocated for her to be housed quickly. Within months, Edith was approved for a home.
“I cried,” she says. “I was just so happy. I cried over everybody’s shoulder. I was just so relieved. The weight just left me, starting at the top of my head, going right down through my legs to my toes.
“To think that I no longer had to worry about wind, rain, cold and heat. The fear of the unknown, of the future. It had gone. It was just pure bliss.”
The Street2Home team helped Edith with rental bond payments, moving costs and furniture. It has now been three months since Edith moved in.
“I’m so happy,” she says. “I thought that I would have to wait another seven years to get a home. I get up every morning and I look out my back window … and I go, ‘oh thank God.’ That’s all I say, ‘Thank God for Uniting’.”
Edith says she’s grateful to Uniting’s supporters, adding that none of this would be possible without their generosity.
“I love you. I just do. I don’t know where these amazing people come from,” she says. “I really don’t. They are just wonderful, sympathetic, compassionate, empowering people. They empowered me to look to the future.”
Street2Home relies on donations to cover the full costs of delivering services for people like Edith.
A gift to Uniting’s Winter Appeal will help Luke and the team provide essential support like emergency food, housing costs and being a trusted friend when times get tough.
Click here to donate
*Edith has generously shared her story. Her name and image have been changed to respect her wishes and protect her safety.