Mum-of-seven Brooke Thomas given lease extension after facing homelessness

Brooke Thomas had just eight days before she and her seven children would be homeless – but now she’s received some heartwarming news.

A southern suburbs mother of seven facing homelessness has been thrown a lifeline, with the 32-year-old no longer set to be kicked out of her home.

Brooke Thomas, 32, told The Advertiser she had applied for hundreds of houses and was on a Housing SA waitlist – but with just eight days left on her lease and no successful rental applications, her children faced the start of the school year on the street.

Through homelessness providers, Ms Thomas was able to find what she thought was a long-term rental in 2021 – until she was told last year that her lease would only be renewed for six more months.

After being approached by The Advertiser, Human Services Minister Nat Cook said her office had spoken to Ms Thomas’s accommodation provider, which supplied transitional housing for those seeking longer-term accommodation.

Ms Cook said she had confirmed that Ms Thomas’s lease would not come to an end next weekend, and she would be receiving assistance from support workers to help find a more permanent home.

Mum of seven Brooke Thomas, 32 (back) with her children (L-R) Tyrese, 12, Leo, 9, Bailey, 7, Tiana, 8, Addisyn, 5, Lily, 13, and Peyton, 3. Picture: Morgan Sette

She also said Ms Thomas’s claim that she had been told she faced a 10-year waitlist with Housing SA was “absolutely not” the case, but acknowledged shortages in the availability of larger housing trust homes.

“In the last 12 months, we’ve housed a family of nine children – but the complication is that there is a real lack of supply of rental accommodation across private and public market,” Ms Cook said.

“We have a whole generation where a federal government put no money into public housing, so we’re now stimulating that but it will take some time.

“The private rental market is also very tight and the social housing market for families is very challenging, so trying to get large family homes is really difficult … when you’re talking seven children, there is quite the challenge.”

Human Services Minister Nat Cook acknowledged more social housing was needed in SA. Picture Emma Brasier

Ms Cook said she could not put a time frame on when a Housing SA home might become available for Ms Thomas, but said the wait time for a high-priority case like hers was “much, much lower”.

She said Ms Thomas had been connected with a case manager within a homelessness group and was confident the “best person was on the job”.

On Thursday, Hutt St Centre CEO Chris Burns said women with children and young professional were among surging numbers of South Aussies finding themselves on the street amid the devastating fallout of cost of living and rental crises.

“We’ve had white collar workers turning up who literally couldn’t afford their rent, or have had to vacate their property, or their relationships have broken down because of all the stresses in life,” Mr Burns said.

“Increasingly for us, after every national interest rate rise we would see a spike in numbers (of clients) three to four weeks later.”