A TOOLEYBUC single mother with three children says she fears her family faces homelessness if they do not find a rental property soon.
Rebecca Goldsmith’s current rental has been sold and she has been given a 30-day notice to vacate.
“It’s looking like I’ll have to be a troll and live under a bridge or in my car,” Ms Goldsmith told The Guardian.
“I have three kids with two being under two.
“I also have two cats whom if I can’t find somewhere else I may have to give away, which really isn’t possible as one of them (belongs to my) 13-year-old who suffers from anxiety.”
Ms Goldsmith has been told the Housing Commission “have nowhere”.
“They don’t care if people with kids are going to be homeless,” she said.
“No one apparently has a house spare for private rent, it appears.”
Ms Goldsmith and her family were supposed to vacate the current property on March 25, but that has been postponed as she takes the property managers to NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) on other issues.
She expects her next deadline to vacate “in the next three to four weeks”.
The struggles of this local family come as Homelessness Australia said it faced a $39.4 million “funding black hole” from July 2023, “after the (federal) budget failed to provide appropriate ongoing funding for staff costs, despite surging demand for services”.
Homelessness Australia chair Jenny Smith called the increased demand for housing, shrinking resources and a nationwide rent increase of 9.7 per cent “an utterly toxic set of circumstances”.
“This will make life harder for women escaping violence, people recovering from serious health crises and those who have just been frozen out of the rental and labour markets,” Ms Smith said.
“All of this is badly aggravated by the wholesale abandonment of social and affordable housing.”
TURN HERE FOR HOUSING HELP
Mallee Family Care, 229 Beveridge Street, Swan Hill, 5032 4479
Mallee District Aboriginal Services, 70 Nyah Road, Swan Hill, 5032 8600
To speak with a housing and support worker call 1800 825 955, 24 hours toll free
Visit housing.vic.gov.au/housing-options-finder
