Margaret: the hidden face of homelessness

Updated

Aged in her late 50s, Margaret found herself homeless and sleeping rough on the streets of Brisbane.

Sorry, this audio has expired Audio: Margaret reveals what life as a homeless woman is like (ABC News)

Margaret is just one of a rising number of Australian women aged over 55 who are having to seek housing support, live on the street, or are on the verge of homelessness.

In a report released this month, Older Women's Pathways Out of Homelessness in Australia, commissioned by the Mercy Foundation, University of Queensland researchers Cameron Parsell and Maree Petersen describe older women's homelessness as 'hidden', because more vulnerable older women are less likely to be sleeping rough, and are therefore less visible.

The women were more likely to be staying with friends, living in a car, living under the threat of violence in their home, or physically 'hiding', which also means official counts of homelessness among older women are limited.

The report analysed the latest research on older women and homelessness from Australia and internationally, and revealed that although some older women had long-term difficulties with homelessness, the largest proportion of older women presenting with housing crisis in Australia had actually led conventional lives, and rented while working and raising a family. Few had had involvement with welfare and support systems in the past.

It also showed that women who are older and living alone tended to be poorer than men their age, less able to maintain homeownership, and less able to compete in the private rental market for affordable accommodation.

The report suggested financial insecurity in later life may be more the experience of older women who had been employed in lower paid, precarious employment, and so these women may be more susceptible to a crisis which put their job at risk. This was confirmed by international research, which showed women (not only older women) saw poverty, limited education, violence and addiction in their families and relatives as the main causes of homelessness.

Margaret found public housing in Brisbane three years ago. She says she aims to move in with family over the next few weeks, and hopes to make her room available to another mature woman who needs it.

Audio, pictures and text by Gina McKeon.