At 66 years old, Lynette, a former full-time teacher, never imagined she would face homelessness. After losing her home to flooding, she has been left couch surfing and struggling to secure affordable housing.
Lynette has taught thousands of children during her career as a teacher. Now Lynette teaches casually, as it provides her with some income and she still very much enjoys it.
However, a couple of years ago, tragedy struck, and she was forced to move out of her home due to flooding.
Since then, Lynette has been plunged into homelessness and couch surfing, unable to afford or access any rental property.
If she works more, the income she receives means she won’t qualify for social housing.
Lynette’s story shines a light on the many older women around Australia who are becoming trapped in homelessness and seeing their living situation deteriorate because there is no pathway out.
Lynette is on the pension, a casual teacher, a golf instructor – and homeless
Affordable housing is vital for women like Lynette, who may never gain access to social or public housing because the ‘priority’ list has grown so far out of proportion.
Last year, homelessness agencies like Anchor assisted around 29,500 older clients (aged 55 years and over) across Australia, an increase from 27,300 clients in 2022–23.
We thank Lynette for her bravery and determination in telling her story, and to the Guardian for their stellar coverage of homelessness.
Image credit: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian
Listen in to Lynette on ABC Radio Melbourne
Lynette joined Jacinta Parsons on her Saturday morning program to discuss her homelessness journey and to call for better solutions for older women who were becoming trapped in homelessness because of the size and severity of the housing crisis.
Listen in to her full segment here:
