As Australia marks Homelessness week, a Canberra charity is building a purpose-built home for those most at risk — designed to give tenants freedom and independence, as well as the support of a community.
Across the country, women aged over 55 are currently the fastest-growing demographic of people experiencing homelessness.
But Canberra's YWCA is working to change that, by building a new fit-for-purpose home in the suburb of Ainslie.
The build, part of YWCA's yhomes project, centred around the concept of independent but shared living.
The house will be made up of 10 standalone units, each equipped with its own kitchen and courtyard, but also sharing a communal green space.
YWCA said the units would be specifically built for women over 50, with a few set aside for women with children fleeing domestic violence.
The design was also created in consultation with women who will be living at the home.
The build is expected to be completed by 2023.
YWCA chief executive Frances Crimmins said demand for housing amongst older women was "off the record", exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said that for women on social welfare, the YWCA was approximately 3,100 properties short, and that the not-for-profit needed an additional 6,000 properties to house women on lower incomes – which includes women who are working full-time but just not earning enough to pay rent in Canberra.
Another initiative run by the YWCA, the Next Door program, found that in Canberra, most of the tenants currently in homes provided by the organisation were tertiary qualified, retired public servants who were unable to access the rental market.
Ms Crimmins said that was one of the greatest challenges experienced by older women in Canberra.
Ms Crimmins said the YWCA had helped more than 100 women aged over 50 experiencing homelessness in the past year.
She said the charity "wanted to be part of the solution", aiming to have 80 properties for women in need within a few years.
"So while it's a modest build, we know that building 10 homes, in a beautiful area, is really going to make a difference to the lives of the people who live there," she said.
The ACT Council of Social Services (ACTCOSS) chief executive Emma Campbell said the lack of affordable housing in Canberra contributed to the importance of the yhomes program.
"We know that we have a shortfall of well over 3,000 social housing dwellings in the ACT, and so that's why these sorts of initiatives are really important," she said.
She also added that targeted initiatives like yhomes were important as they could help those experiencing homelessness for the first time know where to get help.
"Understanding that there are particular services run by people who understand and are sympathetic to the particular situations faced by some of these older women, mean that they're much more likely to come forward for help and they're much more likely to come forward early on – before they find themselves in severe crisis."
But ultimately, Ms Campbell said there needed to be more investment in community housing projects by both the ACT and federal governments.
