Today, the Ageing on the Edge NSW Forum launched the report Home at Last: Solutions to End Homelessness for Older People in NSW. The report highlights the growing number of older people experiencing homelessness and offers solutions to this crisis:
- Establish a service similar to Home at Last in Victoria, a specialist older person’s housing information and support service
- Lower the priority age for social housing eligibility from 80 years as a matter of urgency
- Build 5,000 social and affordable homes per year for 10 years, ring fencing 20% for older people.
Many women spoke about their personal experiences of homelessness, recounting the shame and the devastating effect it had on their lives.
Guest speakers at the launch included Glen-Marie Frost, Alex Greenwich MP, the Hon. Rose Jackson MLC and Jenny Leong MP.
Download the report here: Home At Last
The UNSEEN project was the back drop for the launch, a multimedia work sharing the hidden experiences of women’s homelessness and housing insecurity.
The Mercy Foundation is on the steering committee for the Ageing on the Edge NSW Forum, with CHIA NSW, COTA, HAAG (Housing for the Aged Action Group), Mission Australia, OWN NSW, Uniting, WEL and Women’s Housing Company
