Angus Belling
A recent report on the state of Sydney has found that having a place to call home is the key factor in opening up new opportunities for disadvantaged women.
Anglicare Sydney’s 2011 State of Sydney report, titled Home Truths: Impacts of housing insecurity on women across the life course was launched by The Hon Tanya Plibersek, Federal Minister for Human Services and Social Inclusion on Wednesday September 7.
Home Truthslooks at the experience of housing insecurity for young single mothers, single women over 50 and older women caring for a son or daughter with a disability.
“When inadequate income and unaffordable housing come together, there is a perfect storm of disadvantage and vulnerability”, said Sue King, Director of Advocacy and Partnerships. “Home Truths is unique because it looks at the issue of housing across generations of women and socio-economic groups; secure housing is not just about poverty, but choice and opportunity”.
Anglicare Sydney undertook the study because staff from the Carramar Early Intervention Program for young mothers were concerned by the significant difficulty finding affordable housing for young mothers leaving the program.
Home Truths was produced using Anglicare Sydney’s Emergency Relief data, in depth client interviews and academic commentary. The research on housing insecurity for single women over 50 is among the first of its kind in Australia.
“The key finding from [this report] is that having a place to call home opens up a wealth of opportunities for the future – it gives significant stability to help break the cycle of disadvantage”, added Sue King.
In her address at the launch, Minister Plibersek acknowledged the rich social and economic legacy of churches and Christian organisations serving the vulnerable, and the need to confront prejudice against social and public housing developments.
Dr Karin Sowada, CEO of Anglican Deaconess Ministries spoke about the history of the Deaconesses in delivering social services and education, and affirmed that generous, social action is a hallmark of those who call Jesus their Lord and Saviour.
Two women who experienced housing insecurity in different ways also spoke. Michelle Keegan was supported by the Carramar program for nearly four years and has achieved stable, full-time employment and accommodation. In contrast, Susan Ainger who is an older parent carer reflected on how stable, independent housing for her daughter has helped achieve social and economic wellbeing for both herself and her daughter.
Anglicare is asking State and Federal Governments to invest in models of social and public housing that meet indentified need; temporary crisis accommodation programs like Carramar are proving particularly effective in achieving stability for vulnerable families.
The report also calls for an urgent increase in the Newstart payment for people over 50 and more accommodation options for young adults with a disability.
