A NEW housing and support charity will set up on the Mornington Peninsula to cater for the increasing number of women needing support. Women’s Community Shelters, a Sydney-based organisation, will hold forum in May to discuss establishing a steering committee on the peninsula.
Hastings housing advocate Karen Taylor said the peninsula was “in a big mess” when it came to housing, particularly for women. “With respect to the housing shortage, and with single women over the age of 55 being the fastest growing cohort for homelessness, initiatives like the WCS become increasingly important,” she said. Taylor said women were often the hidden face of the housing crisis and it was “fantastic” to see a community housing initiative recognise the need on the peninsula.
Women’s Community Shelters works with communities to establish new shelters to provide short term emergency accommodation and support in a safe environment that enables homeless women to rebuild self-esteem and achieve control and fulfilment of their lives. Support services are not just help finding affordable housing, but include access to counselling, health care, assistance to navigate government bureaucracy, legal help, further education and employment to help women reestablish control over their lives.
The group says existing services cannot meet the demand for crisis accommodation for women who are homeless, with more than one in two women across Australia needing a bed in a crisis shelter being turned away every night, mostly due to a lack of space.
According to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council data women and children are disproportionally affected by the peninsula’s homelessness crisis, often due to family violence.
Unfortunately, there is no crisis accommodation on the peninsula. Temporary crisis housing at The Ranch Motel in Mornington has seen all 13 rooms full almost every day since it opened almost two years ago, but with its imminent closure, the lack of crisis beds will reach breaking point.
Overall, the number of people waiting for social housing on the peninsula is growing. There are now 3000 applicants on the waiting list on the Port Phillip side of the peninsula and more than 1000 applicants on the Western Port side. About 90 per cent of these applicants are eligible for priority access.
First published in the Mornington News – 26th March 2024
