Older women continue to be particularly vulnerable to later-in-life homelessness, due to lack of superannuation, financial dependence, and domestic and family violence. Older women are also more likely to be renting and to ask for help from specialist homelessness services than older men.

At Mission Australia we see many cases where a relationship has broken down after a couple have moved to our region to retire. Often the woman is vulnerable because of a lack of financial independence and may not have local support networks to fall back on. Our services help some women to reconnect with their adult children and move back to their previous hometown, while others are assisted to find local accommodation that is affordable.

Domestic and family violence can also put older women at risk of homelessness. Many women will wait until their kids have grown before making the decision to leave an abusive relationship. A number of older women are regular visitors to our women’s refuge in Bega. They can face major hurdles trying to find stable, appropriate and affordable accommodation when leaving a violent relationship. More needs to be done to ensure these women are safe and living with dignity.

Mission Australia’s new report ‘Ageing and homelessness: solutions to a growing problem’ looks at the current issues around homelessness and ageing, and also calls for urgent action to reduce the number of older Australians being pushed into homelessness.

Everyone deserves a safe and secure home. For older members of our community, that means having access to stable affordable accommodation and the support services they need so they can age with the respect they deserve.