Paige Robertson-Wood’s tears of joy at happy ending to two-year search for home

After living in three women’s shelters and transitional housing and missing out on dozens of rentals, Paige Robertson-Wood and her children finally have a place to call home.

AFTER almost two years of pain and heartache, Paige Robertson-Wood and her three children have finally found a place to call home.

“I cried when I walked up the driveway – this place is just perfect, the kids are stoked,” Ms Robertson-Wood said as she soaked in the view from the Housing Tasmania house she moved into on Sunday.

“I’ve always dreamt of having a place with a big window with a Christmas tree all lit up in it, that you could see driving past and that’s just what we’ve got with the Santa beside it.”

Ms Robertson-Wood and her children aged 10, 8 and 2 feared they would spend a second Christmas without a home after living in three women’s shelters and transitional housing after leaving her government rental on advice from child protection.

After missing out on dozens of rentals, she said she was getting ready to move to a Housing Tasmania house at Rosetta but it burned down.

“All the kids wanted for Christmas was to move out of the dog box cabin we were in and they were gutted when the Rosetta house was destroyed,” she said.

“When Housing rang and told me about this place I just said yes without even seeing it.”

Paige Robertson-Wood has finally found a home for her family in time for Christmas. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

She is chuffed that a friend’s mother, who owns a business at Lindisfarne, has made curtains and blinds for the four-bedroom house, which had been vacant for months.

“My two-year-old sleeps in his own bed and the kids are outside all the time.”

Ms Robertson-Wood thanked Independent Clark MP Kristie Johnston and her electorate officer Duncan Warburton for supporting her when she was desperate.

Ms Johnston said with rents skyrocketing, many Tasmanians were facing serious housing stress and potential homelessness.

“It is so heart-warming to see the joy and relief on this family’s faces,” she said.

“For Paige and her family, this is more than just a house, it’s a stable home, somewhere the kids can play with their friends, learn and be safe.

“But it is a bittersweet moment for me because I know that there are many thousands of others who are still waiting for a home.”

Independent member for Clark Kristie Johnston with Paige Robertson-Wood. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Housing Minister Michael Ferguson said the government had invested a record $615 million into social and affordable housing and homelessness initiatives.

“We’ve been working tirelessly to secure appropriate housing for Ms Robertson-Wood and her family and it’s great that we’ve been able to find a suitable home for them,” he said.

“Since the commencement of the Affordable Housing Strategy, we have delivered a total of 1922 new homes, land lots and new places in supported accommodation and homeless services.

“This is on top of the 1370 dwellings in the pipeline, including 1075 new social housing dwellings, 192 supported accommodation units and 103 homeless accommodation units, which will go towards helping families like Ms Robertson-Wood find assistance and suitable housing.”