Queensland government announces new social housing development aimed at helping older women experiencing homelessness
The Queensland state government has unveiled a new social housing development which it hopes will help one of Queensland’s most at-risk groups. Older single women are increasingly joining the state’s housing wait list and advocates say both sides of politics are leaving the over fifty-fives behind.
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00:00Maggie Shanbrook was in her late 50s when her life was upended.
00:06I lost my job and my home that I'd been living in and renting for 20 plus years in the same week.
00:14She was put in temporary housing where she has been living for six years.
00:18I could be living in my car or in a tent and I'm not and there are thousands of women who are.
00:23Her experience led her to become an advocate for the housing older women movement.
00:27Over 55s are the fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness nationwide.
00:33I applaud the government honestly for its commitment to more and more housing.
00:38We just need it to escalate even further.
00:42The state government announced it will pair up with Y Queensland, formerly YMCA,
00:46to deliver 47 new affordable units in Mango Hill for older women as part of the housing investment fund.
00:53Homes dedicated to those Queenslanders who need them including older women.
00:57Construction on new development will begin next year,
01:00but the opposition claims the government's housing investment fund has failed to deliver relief for Queenslanders.
01:06The housing investment fund announced three years ago to this day has not delivered one new home.
01:12This builds on the more than 1300 social homes that we built last financial year and the thousand that are under construction.
01:20Advocates for women struggling to find housing say politicians are missing one key element in their policy,
01:26including them in decision making.
01:29Shaping our own future and the future of future generations because there are a lot of women coming up who are vulnerable.