Sydney charity tackling the female homelessness crisis

A transitional housing project in Sydney’s Hills district is expanding as part of efforts to solve the growing homelessness crisis.

Transitional Community Housing Ltd, formerly The Kenthurst Project, was established to source rental accommodation suitable as transitional housing for women.

The movement began in Kenthurst in 2016 by local volunteers Dennis van Someren and Jim Visione, the same year ABS data revealed women aged 55 and over were the fastest-growing cohort of homeless Australians.

“Myself and Jim Visione – we were both alarmed at the plight of women and children sleeping in the back of their cars in the Hills district and of course beyond,” Mr van Someren said.

Co founders Dennis van Someren and Jim Visione with Bev Bakers from the Older Women’s Network (OWN).

At the start of their journey working to offer women a safe space to stay, Mr van Someren said they initially tried to convert caravans, then the local church which was closing down.

Along the way, the pair discovered older women were often impacted most.

“They were couch surfing or sleeping in the back of their cars,” Mr van Someren said.

With a focus to help women facing family and domestic violence or those in other situations such as minimal super, transitional housing offers assistance in the space between crisis housing and the wait for social housing.

Mr van Someren said the assistance includes subsidising rent and providing property maintenance.

The group is now a registered charity, fundraising and securing community grants with community housing provider Wesley Community Housing.

MORE: Warning: Bank job cuts turn mortgages into debt trap

Many homeless women have been living out of their cars.

“The transitional situation is an immediate need,” Mr van Someren said.

“It’s critical at the moment in Australia, there’s no transitional housing.

“What do they do when they are on a 10 or seven month waitlist? Where do they sleep when they have no money?”

Mr van Someren said networking partners which include the Women’s Community Shelter, Older Women’s Network and Parramatta Mission communicate for referrals when a house becomes available.

Currently seven secured properties (three apartments and four standalone houses) are helping 40 people, with 15 women, 24 children and one partner.

Mr van Someren said the standalone dwellings give women dignity and a house where they can get their life back together again with tenancy agreements usually six months to two years.

Prior to signing, tenants must have their name down for priority housing with Homes NSW.

MORE: Where you can buy Sydney home for 2015 price

ABS data revealed 19,378 people aged 55 and over were homeless in 2021.

Transitional Community Housing Chair Ian Thomson said women over 55 have been short-changed by the system as they are often out of the workforce raising children, which impacts their super.

“For various circumstances they end up without a lot of money – they are needing support,” he said.

Mr Thomson said local real estate involvement is also placed to help the process, arranging leases on a compassionate basis.

“There’s a lot of empty and under-utilised properties in the Sydney property market which we are trying to gain access to through real estate agents and others,” he said.

“The role of the real estate agent is to talk to tenants who want to try and make a difference on a compassionate basis in the city and provide housing, granny flats, apartments to us so that we can house people who are coming out of shelters or other circumstances.”

Transitional Community Housing Board of Directors Jim Visione, Cathy Tracey, Terese Wilson, Ian Thomson, Dennis van Someren. Image: Supplied

Transitional Community Housing is now expanding from the hills district to Blacktown and Parramatta.

Mr van Someren said they are always on the search for property, compassionate homeowners and raising funds.

“We can rent these places and give a woman a chance to get her life together again rather than sleeping in the back of a car or sleeping rough,” he said. “Unfortunately in the last nine years the situation has gotten worse. That is the alarming thing and why we’ve never given up.”

MORE: RBA rate cut’s $11 trillion backfire

The post Sydney charity tackling the female homelessness crisis appeared first on realestate.com.au.