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Older Women’s Risk of Homelessness: Background Paper
This background paper provides context regarding older women’s homelessness. It offers some potential solutions to reduce women’s risk of homelessness with a focus on preventative and innovative approaches that look beyond social and community housing as the answer.
2019
Themes:
We’re delaying major life events, and our retirement income system hasn’t caught up
An article looking at the need to conduct an independent review of Australia’s retirement income system, in view of the fact that old age Australian renters have some of the worst relative poverty rates in the OECD.
2019
Living on the Street: Only Option for Some of Cuba’s Elderly
The number of homeless people is growing in Havana, as well as in the rest of the country. This article looks at the reasons behind the increase in older people facing homelessness.
2019
Older women the new face of homelessness
Older women have emerged as one of the most vulnerable groups in relation to housing insecurity and homelessness in Australia in recent years. They are not a group that is historically associated with homelessness and indeed, many older women have never been homeless before.
2019
Themes:
Housing Options for our Ageing Population
The Irish Government's objectives in this Policy Statement 'Housing for an Ageing Population' focus on six principles:
- Ageing in Place
- Supporting Urban Renewal
- Promoting Sustainable Lifetime Housing
- Using Assistive Technology
- Staying Socially Connected
- Working Together
2019
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.
2019
Themes:
What is the Future of Retirement Living and Aged Care?
While our retirement and aged care sectors are complex and tightly regulated, Australia needs more rental accommodation for retirees.
The latest research shows demand for public housing from private renters aged 55-plus, is expected to climb 78 per cent, from roughly 200,000 households in 2016 to 440,000 households in 2031.
2019
Learning from past mistakes: lessons from the National Rental Affordability Scheme
All Australians are spending more of their incomes on housing than in the past, but low-income households are feeling the pinch most.
Many low-income renters are in poverty, and many more are suffering financial stress. Inequality is increasing because rising housing costs have disproportionately whittled away the income growth of poorer households.
2019
Mortgage stress and precarious home ownership: implications for older Australians
This research investigated the growing numbers of middle aged and older Australians who are carrying mortgage debt into retirement and paying off higher levels of debt relative to house values and income. Between 1987 and 2015, mortgage debt among older mortgagors increased by 600 per cent (from $27,000 to over $185,000).
2019
The Emerging Crisis of Aged Homelessness: Could Housing Solutions Be Funded by Avoidance of Excess Shelter, Hospital, and Nursing Home Costs?
This report summarizes a multi-site study in three localities – Boston, New York City, and Los Angeles County – of the anticipated future of the aged homeless population, its likely impacts on health and shelter systems and resulting costs, and the potential for housing solutions.
Specifically, this report summarizes the following analyses:
- Forecasts of the size of the aged homeless population
2019
"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."