Homeless Qld: Shocking stories of family violence victims

A single mum who escaped a domestic violence situation was forced to give birth to her fourth child while homeless after she was rejected more than 60 times for private rentals.

Single-parent households make up a large proportion of Queenslanders in urgent need of emergency housing, it has been revealed.

A coalition of housing advocates has pleaded with the major parties to address the critical undersupply of homes, as new analysis shows one-third of social housing applicants, more than 8100, are families with children, and 90 per cent of those are single-parent households.

As the troubling trend emerges, these are just some of the horror stories:

TEMPTED TO RETURN TO VIOLENT PARTNER

A single mother with three children has been homeless for seven months. The family became homeless when they tried to escape domestic violence and have been moving between couch-surfing arrangements with friends and family and paying for hotel accommodation, the costs of which continue to rise due to the opening of state borders, tourism and the current housing crisis. The mother has been on the social housing waiting list for six months and has been advised that she will not be prioritised for allocation due to a lack of housing stock. This has left her desperate for housing and contact with her children, and she is considering returning to the violent ex-partner as a means to regain what she lost by leaving him.

PREGNANT MUM OF FOUR REJECTED 60 TIMES

A pregnant single mother with four children became homeless after fleeing domestic violence. The family were placed in a refuge for two months and then forced to relocate to unaffordable hotel accommodation. This family has been homeless for more than a year, during which time the mother gave birth to another child. The family have an approved social housing application and have applied for and been rejected for more than 60 private rentals, as well as being referred to more than 10 Specialist Housing Service vacancies. Due to the housing crisis in Queensland a shortage of social housing stock for large families, this family have been caught in the cycle of homelessness, which itself becomes a barrier to securing stable housing.

YOUNG CHILDREN EXPOSED TO HARM IN HOSTEL

A single mother and her three children aged five to 12 who fled family violence were staying for two months in a hotel known to be unsafe for young children. The family were there as it was the only hotel which had long-term vacancy and was also less than the family’s entire income. The family support team at Micah Projects assisted the family to relocate to a safer hotel, access emergency relief to meet their basic needs and help to find clothing, nappies and toys for the children. The children were enrolled in school while in a hotel, however it presented a very difficult challenge to the mother to have the children attend regularly. After eight months of homelessness the family were allocated a social housing property.

Originally published as Homeless Qld: Shocking stories of family violence victims