Sarah (not her real name) is in her early 60s and resides in a small retirement village. Sarah fell into arrears and received a notice terminating (or purporting to terminate) her residency right as of last week.
Fiona chats to Ben Martin-Hobbs from the Consumer Policy Research Centre about his research into how people choose their home care provider. He found some interesting differences between the experiences of older people living in retirement villages, home owners and renters.You can read his report here: https://cprc.org.au/publications/?_sft_pub-type=report
The patterns and circumstances of low income older non- homeowners identified in this report indicate that Queensland is no exception to the national trends on homelessness and the risk of homelessness for the older population. Overall homelessness in Queensland is rising and the older age groups are increasingly contributing to this growth. Unlike in other states where older people affected by homelessness and marginally housed are concentrated in the metropolitan capital, in Queensland greater numbers are found in regional Queensland.
Our autumn newsletter farewells longtime employee and advocate for housing justice, Jeff Fiedler. It also covers HAAGs response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and much more!
“No Victorian should lose their home during this pandemic, or because of it,” said HAAG's Chair, Phyll Williams. “Older people are the fastest-growing segment of the private rental market, and the most vulnerable to the coronavirus. The government must ensure that renters aren’t put on the street, where they will be completely unable to take any social-distancing or self-isolation measures.”
HAAG is taking steps to limit the potential spread of the corona virus. This means that we will be having less face-to-face meetings with our members, volunteers and clients, and there will be less people in the office. We will still be answering the phone and encourage people to stay in touch!
Jeff's last hoorah
11 Mar 2020
Jeff Fiedler is leaving HAAG after 23 years of dedicated service to the issues of older people and housing. On this show, Shane and Pam chat to Jeff and April about the history of housing activism at HAAG
"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."