Older homeless women face deadly risks living on the streets

Queensland is expected to be home to almost a third of Australia’s homeless women within a decade.

Queensland is expected to be home to almost a third of Australia’s homeless women within a decade, startling statistics from a grassroots charity have revealed. Picture: The Australian

Queensland is expected to be home to almost a third of Australia’s homeless women within a decade, with many of those expected to die within five years, startling statistics from a grassroots charity have revealed.

Brisbane-based charity The Forgotten Women released the bleak statistics this week claiming that almost a quarter of women aged 60 to 64 were at risk of homelessness as they aged because they had no superannuation.

Charity founder Teresa Reed said the alarming figures did not stop there with women aged over 55 now the country’s fastest-growing group of homeless people, with more than 420,000 already without secure accommodation or on the brink.

She said many older women in Australia were forced to spend more than a third of their income on rent, pushing them on to the streets, with the brutal reality that more than half of those sleeping rough at that age faced the risk of dying within five years.

Almost a quarter of women aged 60 to 64 are at risk of homelessness as they age because they have no superannuation and two-thirds of single women on the age pension have less than $50,000 in assets. Picture: The Courier-Mail

Even worse, the statistics showed older women and two-thirds of single women on the age pension had less than $50,000 in assets to see them through retirement.

“Some of these women may be widows, divorced or escaping family violence but however they ended up homeless, the brutal reality is they face the risk of premature death within five years if they live on the streets,” Ms Reed said.

“It is believed the true figure will be much higher, with many women from this generation reluctant to identify as homeless or living in poverty.”

The statistics may only be revealing a part of the problem.

Ms Reed claimed many older women were part of a “hidden homelessness” unlike many homeless men, whose situations were more visible.

She said older women relied on friends’ couches, were living in cars or moving prematurely into aged care because they could not afford secure housing.

The Forgotten Women charity was founded in 2018 after Ms Reed noticed a rising number of older women quietly lining up for help while she was working with another charity providing free haircuts to homeless people.

“These women have often spent their lives providing for others and we feel a deep responsibility that they do not spend their final years in poverty and homelessness,” Ms Reed said.

Brisbane woman and photographer Sarah Whyte at last year’s Live Like Her charity event at Brisbane Airport. Picture: The Forgotten Women

To raise awareness and vital funds, the group runs the annual Live Like Her Challenge, where Queenslanders spend one cold night sleeping in their cars to glimpse the harsh reality thousands of older women face every night.

Last year’s challenge attracted 405 people in 344 cars at Brisbane Airport and raised nearly $400,000 for safe, affordable housing.

This year, participants will return to Brisbane Airport on September 4, with a second event at Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast on September 11.

Every dollar raised will help to provide secure, affordable housing for older women, with rent capped at no more than 30 per cent of income.

Women slept in their cars at Brisbane Airport to experience what it was like for a night to be living out of a car. Pictures: The Forgotten Women

Live Like Her Challenge

■ Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast runs from 3pm on September 11 to raise awareness, and critical funds, for this forgotten group.

■ Brisbane Airport on September 4

Originally published as Older homeless women face deadly risks living on the streets