Shifting the affordable housing conversation to action with older women at the centre
“I just want to feel like I’m living as a decent, respectful person in a clean home. That's all I want – to have somewhere I can call home,” Pauline shared during Sefa’s Older Women’s Housing panel discussion in November.
At 70, this is what Pauline dreams of. A safe, clean home close to the people she loves. But for Pauline, this remains just that – a dream.
Sadly, many older women in Australia are in the same situation.
Single, ‘middle aged’ (45 to 55 years) women are the fastest-growing group of people at risk of housing insecurity and homelessness in the country. And 500,000 women over 65 are experiencing long-term income poverty that puts them at risk of housing insecurity.
Sefa’s panel discussed the challenges and barriers older women face when it comes to secure housing and considered the steps we need to take to help overcome these. Facilitated by Manfred Bauer, Sefa’s Head of Portfolio Management, the panel also included Renee Martin, Sefa’s Head of Engagement and Pauline and Katie, who shared their lived experience.
The need for more housing alternatives
Pauline spent her career looking after vulnerable people in the community working in aged care. And today, she finds herself as one of the people she used to care for.
Health issues forced Pauline, who lives alone, to leave work at 64.
“I had to go on unemployment benefits. It was very stressful. I started selling my things to pay rent. And sometimes I'd have to choose between groceries or getting petrol to see my social network that helps me to stay safe, and alive.”
With rising rental prices, Pauline couldn’t afford to live in her hometown anymore.
“I slept in my car at first, then I couch surfed for a while with friends and family, but you wear out your welcome very quickly.”
Pauline then moved from one refuge to another, then onto integrated housing before her current spot in an aged care village. It’s a far cry from the home she once had close to her family and network – the home she, and other women like her, deserves.
“Everything that makes me who I am is a long way from where I'm living. I'm not a whole, complete, happy person anymore,” Pauline said.
Sadly, in Australia, structural and social failures mean Pauline’s not alone. As society’s unpaid carers, women’s income potential is limited. And when they experience family violence, health issues or other traumatic events, they often struggle to access support.
“We only ask to be shown some dignity – a clean, healthy and safe environment in which we can live and thrive, with what time we have left,” Pauline said.
Pauline’s story is just one example of a broken system. The prevailing approach to finding affordable homes for vulnerable Australians is siloed and leads to poor outcomes for most. And the current fragmented system of service-delivery means services are inefficiently funded and poorly targeted with inadequate resources.
Finding affordable home options for vulnerable women in Australia
As part of its approach, LMCF commissioned our team at Sefa Partnerships and Sefa to better understand Australia’s vulnerable women and explore housing models that align with their needs.
Our report found that in a country obsessed with home ownership, there are serious barriers excluding women aged 45 to 65 and earning between $64,000 and $104,000 a year from ever owning a home.
As victims of the gender pay gap, spending a quarter of their life in unpaid caring roles, women’s income earning potential limits their ability to repay a mortgage by the time they retire.
Women also have about 40% less superannuation than their male equivalents, and find it harder to access mainstream finance.
There’s also a mismatch between available affordable housing stock and what women want.
“There's a deep desire to age in place, stay close to community and their job or where they’re volunteering. But the market is focused on unlocking greenfield development,” Renee said.
So how can we give these women the dignity and agency to secure homes they deserve?
We uncovered four considerations that will help us find more realistic and meaningful solutions.
1. Helping women onto the housing pathway earlier
It’s important to recognise financial illiteracy and other events that trigger a sense of uncertainty and vulnerability for women.
By the time women reach age 55, it’s already too late to be having these discussions and to adequately support them on a housing pathway.
“Taking the plunge at that point means your options are diminished,” said Renee. “So we really need to bring the conversation forward to when they’re 45.”
And we also need to consider the importance of wraparound services, and how to provide the right support before a crisis hits.
2. Focusing on bespoke solutions
There is no one-size-fits-all approach for this group – and a current focus on scalable solutions is hindering progress.
“I think we often hide behind the term ‘at scale’. We’re not going to do it if we can't do it at scale. But the most successful developments for these cohorts are very bespoke. They’re location based and involve women from the conception and design phase,” said Renee.
And importantly, they solve for a relatively small number of women. If we can find ways to support developers and help the market bring fit-for-purpose solutions to life, we can unlock intergenerational benefits and ongoing opportunity for change.
While a silver bullet doesn’t exist, lessons across the entire ecosystem can help us think differently about housing.
“It's time to aggregate, come together, pull resources, enjoy collective advocacy, and share risks and rewards,” Renee urged.\
3. Starting with the end in sight
To find meaningful solutions, we need to let the future we want to create guide us. For older women this includes secure tenure, connection to community, the right balance between privacy and shared space, fit-for-purpose design, and accessibility and affordability considerations.
Housing model conversations need to be led by these goals. Only then can this underserved community enjoy the benefits of a home – which go far beyond just having a roof over your head.
“A home provides a sense of belonging and a connection to family, friends and community. It's permanent. It offers continuity, and it gives agency and sense of control to women. It's much more than a physical environment. It's an identity. It’s essential for well-being,” Renee explained.
4. Shifting from conversation to action
Older women deserve safe and affordable housing options. It’s time to move on from being outraged and doing something about it.
That’s why we’re in the process of securing funding to unearth practical solutions to help philanthropic organisations actively contribute to addressing the affordable housing shortage. We also hope to start a project that will help enable the development of innovative, sustainable models that provide secure housing and wraparound services for older women who’d otherwise struggle to afford a home.
We need to involve vulnerable, older women in the conversation early – and keep them at the forefront of the action we take going forward.
“We don’t want charity. We just want to go home.”
Pauline West
Philanthropy and impact investors are stepping in
Finding solutions to issues like affordable housing has historically been the government’s domain. But there’s growing interest among philanthropy and ‘impact’ investors to intervene by providing or amplifying incentives that help better direct scarce resources.
There are several great examples of philanthropy forging a new way forward in alternative housing.
With the help and commitment of the LMCF, homeless support service VincentCare has been able to reimagine early crisis accommodation for vulnerable Victorians at the redesigned Ozanam House.
The world-class facilities promote dignity and privacy and support recovery.
First look: Ozanam House Redevelopment - lmcf.org.au - Changing Melbourne for Good - YouTube
“We were the first foundation to commit to supporting this project, which prompted other philanthropy and government funding,” Catherine shared.
LMCF’s Affordable Housing Challenge aims to unlock under-utilised land for affordable housing through a $1million major grant. The City of Darebin and Housing Choices Australia, alongside LMCF are leading the first major project currently under construction – developing 40 affordable units in the vibrant community of Preston, Victoria.
The Foundation also offers grants of $50,000 for feasibility studies to assess the potential of other under-utilised plots around the state.
But for LMCF, philanthropy’s role reaches beyond funding.
“Philanthropy has a toolbox - it's not just about grants. It's also about research, policy, collaboration and convening,” Catherine pointed out. “To shift the environment, we need to be involved in innovation and finance, and going in early to solve problems and provide seed funding. Working on policy and building a different financing stack to make affordable housing happen.”