In just three years, Tracey* lost her job, her livelihood, and her rental home.
At 66, she was forced to flee her friends’ home with just the clothes on her back.
“I knew nobody but my friends and I had nothing,” she told 9news.com.au.
READ MORE: Bleak truth about Australia’s housing shortage crisis revealed
“I had no money. I had absolutely nothing except the clothes I wore and my handbag and shoes.
“I was absolutely terrified.”
Women like Tracey are at the forefront of Australia’s housing crisis, with women over the age of 55 making up one of the fastest-growing cohorts of people experiencing homelessness in Australia.
They often have lower retirement savings or superannuation than men and can be hit hard by late-in-life shocks like job loss or divorce.
Tracey says being attacked at work set off a chain reaction that she never could have predicted.
“I was working, I was happy, I had an income, you know, a good paying job.
“I had what I wanted and life was good and all of a sudden in, you know, 25 minutes my life changed completely.”
READ MORE: Aussies on low incomes priced out of rentals across most of the country, report finds
The attack left Tracey with post-traumatic stress disorder and unable to return to work.
She became eligible for a disability pension, but that was discontinued when she received a compensation payout from the attack.
She later lost most of that compensation payout to a scam.
Eventually, Tracey thought she had found somewhere to rebuild her life, staying with new friends in a new town.
But that became unsafe too, and she found herself at a police station with nowhere left to go.
“I never would have dreamt in a million years that this would have happened to me.
“I had never been in a situation like this before, not knowing what to do or anything.”
Then, in a moment Tracey credits with saving her life, police put her in touch with homelessness support services from Mission Australia.
The organisation has since provided her with crisis accommodation, as well as transport to medical appointments, and is helping her navigate Centrelink so she can have her pension reinstated with the hope of soon living independently again.
“What would I have done? I’d be sleeping under a bridge or somewhere.
“I really owe my life to Mission Australia.”
READ MORE: One quarter of Australians fear homelessness, Salvation Army finds
As Australia’s housing affordability crisis shows little signs of letting up, Mission Australia’s homelessness services has reported an 83 per cent increase in women over the age of 55 seeking assistance with housing and everyday essentials.
CEO Sharon Callister has called for increased investment in social and affordable housing to ensure older women can remain in their homes and communities and age with dignity.
“Older women may not be able to afford the next rent increase or interest rate hike,” Callister said.
“A health scare or other change in circumstance can be disastrous for them.
“These are women who may have worked and cared for others throughout their lives but are left isolated and vulnerable as they age.
“Our frontline staff across the country work hard to support everyone who comes through their doors, but the ongoing housing emergency makes it challenging to find secure, long-term housing for people in need.”
The 2021 census found 19,378 people aged 55 years and over were experiencing homelessness
It found older women were more likely than males to be in supported accommodation, staying temporarily with other households or living in severely crowded dwellings than older men, who were more likely than women to be sleeping rough or in tents or in boarding houses.
*Name has been changed.
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