Kate Swirski’s desperate plea as mum of five faces homelessness

A Queensland mum of five, caught up in the housing crisis gripping the Wide Bay, has spoken out as families are faced with the possibility of living in their cars or being forced to give up their children.

As News Corp’s Wide Bay titles campaign for urgent government intervention amid the region’s housing crisis, a young mother has revealed just how dire things are for families like hers.

Kate Swirski fears she will have to give up her five children if she can’t find a rental.

She’s been out of stable housing since March and with Gympie’s rental vacancy rate at 0.4 per cent, Maryborough's at 0.2 per cent and Bundaberg’s at 0.5 per cent, she’s among thousands caught in a crisis which community and property groups now say is the biggest facing this region.

Forced to sell the majority of her pets, she’s since moved into two spare bedrooms in a Paterson home which a woman kindly provided for the family of six.

Since Easter, Ms Swirski has applied for every rental that has become available within her price range, but has been consistently rejected.

“I’m just at the point now where I want to give up,” she said

“I don’t see the point in trying anymore because I know I’m just going to get knocked back.”

Ms Swirski is currently receiving Centrelink payments while looking for work.

$350 a week is her budget for rent – a figure, which prior to the Covid-linked population boom in the Wide Bay and owner-occupier trend, would have been enough for a significant section of the market.

Kate Swirski fears she will have to give up her five young children if she can’t find a rental soon.

Competing with tenants who were offering more money so they could secure the house and applications coming from interstate, made it almost impossible to get a look in she said.

“It’s not just me, there are so many homeless people in the area, it’s ridiculous,” she said.

“I’ve done everything I can, I’ve gone into (the Department of) Housing, I’ve put in a form to accept the smaller housing commission home if one comes up … the Department of Child Safety have done a joint action plan with Housing which puts me on a priority, but there's just nothing.”

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Ms Swirski said she didn’t know how much longer she could survive the current housing situation as her children, who were all aged under 10, were struggling to cope with the uncertainty and lack of security.

“It’s affecting the kids, they are getting more and more naughty because they’re just acting out because we don’t know what's happening,” she said.

“My family’s solution is to sign custody over to someone else for my children, I have asked them for help and that was their suggestion.

Help our Wide Bay homeless.

“I don’t want to give up my kids but it’s coming to the point where there’s just nothing and if this current house falls through, we’d be in the car permanently because I’ve got nowhere else to go.”

Applications continue to be placed for anywhere between Caboolture and Hervey Bay, but Ms Swirski believes her current job status is putting landlords off.

“I’d be so grateful for any opportunity, my children need to be in a routine, we can't just keep not knowing what’s happening,” she said.

Any housing opportunities can be sent to [e-mail] and they will be forwarded to Ms Swirski.