Improving housing security for older women community engagement

We want to listen, hear, and learn from community voices to better inform recommendations to improve housing security for older women in South Australia.

What's being considered?

The Housing Security for Older Women Taskforce (Taskforce) are identifying recommendations to improve housing security for older women (55 years and over) in South Australia. Examples of ideas are based around 4 key areas identified by older women with lived experience of housing insecurity:

• New Supply Models and Land Use
• Private Rental
• Services
• Social Housing

We want to hear from anyone with an interest in improving older women's housing security. Your insight, stories, ideas, and feedback will help shape the recommendations and content to inform an implementation plan to improve housing security for older South Australian women.

Background

Women aged 55 years and over are one of the fastest growing populations experiencing homelessness in Australia. However, research suggests this may be an underestimation given the ‘hidden nature’ of older women’s homelessness.

Older women are particularly vulnerable to housing insecurity due to a range of current and historical systemic factors, including but not limited to:

• domestic and family violence, and elder abuse;
• financial insecurity and disadvantage (lower lifetime incomes, less access to financial assets such as superannuation due to informal care responsibilities);
• relationship breakdown, illness, or death of a spouse;
• social norms, gender and sexual identity, and age discrimination; and
• market forces such as housing affordability and availability.

To address this, the Taskforce was brought together with a range of lived experience, expertise, disciplines, networks, and community to create holistic, practical, and meaningful change. Taskforce members include community members who have had experience of housing insecurity (Lived Experience Advocates) and representatives from sectors including:

• health,
• academia,
• ageing,
• domestic and family violence,
• local government,
• housing and homelessness, and
• community services.

Guided by key focus areas identified in Lived Experience workshops, the Taskforce are working together to come up with innovative solutions to improve older women's housing security.

For more information on the Taskforce, please visit the Taskforce website.

Get involved

Central to the Taskforce is authentic co-design guided by lived experience and community voices.

Find out more:

• read the Issues Paper (summarises the key issues preventing older women from achieving housing security in South Australia and provides examples to address them, grouped across the focus areas)
• take a look at our FAQs
• ask us a question.

Have your say by:

• taking our survey below, which has been designed to provide guiding questions to prompt feedback and ideas
• sharing your success story.

Experiences of housing insecurity, homelessness, and the circumstances that lead to them can be difficult to reflect upon and / or share. If you experience any distress, please see the Helpful contacts and services document for available services who can help.

If you have any issues or concerns about access or contributing to this engagement, please contact Housing-HSFOWTaskforce@sa.gov.au.

What are the next steps?

This community engagement will close on Wednesday 28 June 2023.

Your insights, stories, and ideas will help better inform the Taskforce's submission of recommendations to improve housing security. These recommendations will then form the basis of an implementation plan to improve housing security for older women in South Australia.