Sunday Mail Blanket Appeal: Mum Chloe goes from car to shipping container to motel
“I have a job, yes I have my kids with me, I don’t have an addiction or anything like that but we are still homeless.” Meet the new face of homelessness as rents skyrocket.
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Chloe is the new face of homelessness.
The Adelaide mother of three lost her home when the rent jumped from $370 to $520 overnight, and for the past 13 months she has moved between living in her car, then a shipping container and now a hotel.
The part-time security worker can no longer afford to run a car and is forced to take her youngest child to school on an e-scooter.
As rent and the cost of living skyrockets, more and more people like Chloe are struggling to find even the most basic accommodation.
“People have this idea of what homelessness looks like,’’ she said.
“Yes I have a job, yes I have my kids with me, I don’t have an addiction or anything like that but we are still homeless.”
According to those of the frontline of the battle against homelessness said women were making up and increasing number of clients.
Hutt Street Centre CEO Chris Burns said the pandemic had only exasperated the problem.
“The biggest change recently has been a big increase in women coming through the Hutt St Centre,’’ Mr Burns said.
“Of our new clients at the moment about 35 per cent are women and normally it would be 10-15 per cent.
“The relationship breakdowns especially, because of lockdowns, is causing a specific problems.
“The women we are seeking are in their late 30s to their late 50s, often part-time or casual, often in hospitality or retail, and either have no super or cashed out their super in Covid. That is almost a recipe there for homelessness.”
Bitterly cold and wet winter weather is only adding to the current problems, with single digit overnight temperatures forecast for the next week.
The Sunday Mail’s long-running Blanket Appeal launches today, with the aim of getting sleeping bags, waterproof swags and winter coats into the hands of those who need them most.
Sunday Mail editor Paul Ashenden said the Blanket Appeal was the newspaper’s longest running charitable initiative.
“It began in the Great Depression and was revived in 1959. Over more than six decades, South Australians have opened their hearts and dug deep,” Mr Ashenden said.
“The appeal has touched thousands of lives at their lowest point. For people sleeping rough or unable to afford heating, winter can be deadly – and staying warm and dry is vital.’’
The Australian Chinese Medical Association Foundation has generously donated $10,000 to kickstart the 2022 appeal. The foundation, whose members include GPs, specialists, medical officers and students, has now given $55,000 since 2018. Chairperson Dr Francis Ghan said the appeal was something his foundation was proud to support.
“There are so many homeless people on our streets, and this is something that our community can do for the wider community,” Dr Ghan said.
Donate to The Advertiser and Sunday Mail Blanket Appeal here
Originally published as Sunday Mail Blanket Appeal: Mum Chloe goes from car to shipping container to motel
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