Single people & housing stress
Seventy and homeless for the first time: the rise of older women's homelessness
While the stereotypical face of poverty is a older man – a lifetime down on his luck, the fastest growing demographic of people experiencing homelessness is single women over the age of 55.
While it is clear that women are victim to lifelong structural settings that have undermined their financial security – the state of the housing market is what is pushing so many women from housing stress into
2018
Majority of female homeowners fearful they couldn't handle small interest rate rise, survey finds
More than two-thirds of female homeowners with a mortgage feel they would be in hot water if their repayments increased by just $100 a month, new data shows.
Of all homeowners, it was women who felt most vulnerable to the possibility of an interest rate rise, with 67 per cent admitting they didn’t think they could afford a hike of more than $23 a week.
2018
The disturbing truth you need to know about women's homelessness
Christine is a recently retired and now homeless mature age woman who has, like so many other retired professional women, little to no prospect of obtaining public or community housing, or being able to afford market price rentals.
She is the convenor of the Housing Alternatives self-help action group on Facebook and the creator of the Housing Alternatives web site,
2018
Older single SA women facing homelessness and housing stress
Single women aged over 60 are becoming increasingly vulnerable to housing stress and insecurity and while the factors leading to homelessness are often complex, consistent trends have been emerging with this group in our community.
2018
Report Finds Sharp Rise in Older Women Experiencing Homelessness
The report, “Retiring into Poverty”, released by the National Older Women’s Housing and Homelessness Working Group, said systemic factors such as lower superannuation, unequal pay and forced time off to raise children were key factors of the increase.
The combination of women having a lower overall income and housing affordability in major cities was a cause of great instability.
Housing afforda
2018
The rising population of older, homeless women
Older women are often the forgotten face of homelessness.
Stereotypes dominate the average view of what a homeless person looks like, but at a time when the number of older women couch-surfing has doubled in just four years, times are changing.
In Australia in 2016, 1618 women over the age of 50 who presented at homelessness services were couch-surfing – an 83 per cent increase over four years.
2018
Retiring Into Poverty - A National Plan for Change: Increasing Housing Security for Older Women
Australian women aged over 50 are at greater risk of financial and housing security than older men. This has been linked to a number of compounding and systemic factors.
2018
Single women face a frightening future of homelessness in Australia
Only about 6 per cent of homeless people in Australia are sleeping rough; the rest are in temporary accommodation, sleeping in their cars or couchsurfing.
And one of the most shocking trends from the data is the increase in homelessness among older women.
2017
Literature Review: Older women and housing in the ACT
Single older women comprise a rapidly growing cohort facing housing insecurity and the risk of
homelessness.
2017
Nowhere To Go - Older Women and Housing Vulnerability
In 2011, according to ABS Census data, there were 135,494 women aged 55 and older in the private rental market, up from 91,549 who were counted in the 2006 Census. These figures are likely to underestimate the real number of older women who are renters, especially those with an informal or sublet rental agreement.
2016
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"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."