Families are seeking refuge in hotels as there’s no end in sight for the rental crisis in the Barossa
Thousands of people across regional SA are desperate for housing, with a single mother finding herself forced to live in a motel after she ran out of options.
Barossa, Clare & Gawler
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Jodi Baxter never thought she would be living with her son in a motel but that’s now her reality.
Ms Baxter is one of thousands of people, predominantly women, residing in temporary accommodation in South Australia, as the rental crisis forces more people into homelessness.
“I didn’t expect to find myself in this situation, at my age,” the 39-year-old said.
Sadly, Ms Baxter is far from the only person in our state who is living under a temporary roof, with Adelaide homelessness service The Hutt St Centre estimating 6220 South Australians have inadequate housing.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says a person is homeless if they are living in a dwelling that has no tenure, if their home’s lease is short and not extendable, their housing does not allow them to have control of their social relations or their living situation is simply inadequate.
Ms Baxter rented a house for five years in the Barossa, but she was told by her landlord she would have to move out by January 16.
The house is now a bed and breakfast.
Ms Baxter has three children: 12-year-old Zac, 18-year-old Connor and 20-year-old Brayden.
Connor is staying with his girlfriend in Nuriootpa and Brayden primarily resides with friends in Tanunda.
Zac lives with his mum.
Ms Baxter, Connor and Brayden work in the Barossa so moving away is out of the question for the mother.
The family of four were staying at the Barossa Valley Caravan Park for the first three weeks of this year but it was costing them $110 a night.
Ms Baxter now spends $428 a week to live at the Barossa Gateway Motel in Nuriootpa.
She spends another $70 a week on storage for her belongings.
It’s a huge financial impost, chewing up most of the money she makes working 25 hours a week at a Tanunda service station.
“I’ve been looking around for rentals under the $400 mark in the Barossa, but it’s difficult,” Ms Baxter said.
“And I’m applying for houses as a single mother. I may be up against a couple with a dual income.”
National Council of Women SA president Fiona Dorman said older women were more at risk of experiencing housing insecurity for a number of reasons including the gender pay gap, the overrepresentation of women in part-time and low-paid industries, unequal caregiving roles and lower rates of superannuation or savings.
St Vincent De Paul South Australia chief executive Michelle Kemp said the organisation was inundated with by calls for help from people who have no permanent housing.
“We are also noticing a significant increase in the number of people contacting us from their cars, where they are living while they seek alternative shelter,” Ms Kemp said.
The Liberals are delivering a $20 million Homelessness Prevention fund to help alleviate the crisis.
Labor has said that under its leadership, there would be more funding for affordable housing in metropolitan and regional areas.
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