GOOD NEWS: WHEN SECURE HOUSING TRANSFORMS LIVES
Like other MPs, I am contacted about housing enquiries on an almost daily basis. We hear of people who are booted out of their homes, who are on the priority public housing waitlist for as long as five years, who are penalised for their mental illness, disability, gender and ethnicity.
The system often fails the people it’s supposed to protect.
While we work hard to help find solutions in a system that seems impossible to navigate, it is also good to hear that there can be solutions, and it is one such story I share with you now.
Not long ago, I met Donna, a woman who had been granted secure and affordable housing in Moonah. In a previous life, Donna was a teacher, working at public schools across the east coast. Later, she found herself homeless in her mid-50s after leaving an abusive relationship and undergoing cancer treatment.
Donna found it difficult to find housing over the course of almost a decade. It was a struggle finding somewhere to live - Donna found herself couch surfing, staying in mouldy, freezing share houses, and finding a place of her own, but nothing stuck. She applied for social housing, and after a long wait, eventually got it - staying at a place for women over 55 in Moonah.
Her new home is warm, bright, and friendly. There is space for grandkids to come and visit. The rooms are designed well for light and energy efficiency, so Donna’s electricity bills aren’t a drain on her finances. The rent is affordable, capped at 25% of her fixed income. Donna feels well supported with her new community and longer term friends who have been with her throughout this housing journey.
Having secure housing has had a profound impact on Donna’s life - it has meant she is able to work/volunteer again, focus on her health, and spend time actually enjoying life – rather than focusing on the stress of insecure housing options.
Imagine what life could look like if we had more stories like Donna. With over 5000 Tasmanians on the social housing waitlist, imagine what difference this would make. Turning underutilised land in Hobart’s northern suburb corridor into places for homes is also part of that solution.
