New housing model giving older women a home 'for the rest of my life'

Australia-first co-housing project dubbed a 'perfect solution' for older women Five women who have turned to couch surfing and loved ones to keep a roof over their heads have landed their forever homes as part of an Australian-first co-housing development. They have paid $120,000 each and signed a 50-year lease, ensuring they will never be kicked out. Ann Singh, 79, was left struggling financially after a divorce, so like many others, moved from rental to rental and took on house sitting. Tonight she will finally sleep in her own unit at Darra, south-west of Brisbane. "It's emotional, to wake up in my own space with my own things around me," she said. "It is such a perfect solution for women like me who had a little bit of money but not enough to buy a property. "My take on it is, it's saving us from a fate worse than death." It is a dream come true, thanks to a charity called Sharing with Friends and is the result of seven years of dogged determination. Each woman will live in their own private, self-contained studio unit, with a kitchen and courtyard. If they are in the mood for company, there is also a shared kitchen and living room as well as a central courtyard. The co-housing model caters specifically to older women who are the fastest-growing group of homeless people in the country. 'Terrified' of living in a tent Robyn Duffy-Jones is one of Ms Singh's new neighbours and, at 60 years old, is the youngest of the group. The single mother has rented all her life, and was rejected by banks when she tried to borrow money to buy a house in her mid-50s. Then, Queensland property prices started to soar. Ms Duffy-Jones said there were times she thought she might end up in a tent, which "terrified" her. "Where are you going to live is a fundamental right, [it is] such a scary thought to not have a roof over your head," she said. When she heard about the Sharing With Friends project, she jumped at the opportunity, describing it as "a saviour". "I've always wanted to own my own home, it's always been a dream of mine," she said. The $120,000 investment was determined by the fact that at the time it was the average amount a woman at retirement age had in their super fund. 'The missing middle' Sharing With Friends president Susan Davies said they were motivated to try something new after hearing countless stories of single, older women struggling to find a decent place to live. "It's a real systemic failure in this country. No one was doing anything about helping this group of women and we decided to do something," Ms Davies said. "We call them the missing middle. They had too much to qualify for social housing, but absolutely not enough to afford to buy anywhere. "So if they are renting, they are facing drawing down on their savings and basically living in fear of eviction, and being thrown onto the street." The number of homeless women over 55 has surged, with census data from five years showing a 40 per cent increase over the past decade. The first group of women to live at the Brisbane co-living development chose each other through a series of workshops run by the charity. Ms Davies said generous philanthropic donations got the project off the ground, amid rising construction costs and planning delays. "We've had virtually no help from government," she said. The charity owns the land, but the women have to pay for electricity and rates, just like any home owner. When they want out, or after death, their initial investment is returned with CPI added in. "One of our women just said to me, 'I finally have a home, before this I was worried I would be one of those people whose whole life would be being pushed around in a shopping trolley,'" Ms Davies said. Need to change planning act Sharing with Friends want to roll out this model across Australia but say local councils and governments need to cut back on red tape and include the model into their planning acts. "The system has to change so that we can replicate this quickly," Ms Davies said. "We knew we needed to come up with something affordable and sustainable." She said with the average woman now having about $150,000 in their super fund and increasing costs, the next project would need a "buy-in" of about $200,000. Architect Eloise Atkinson designed the model pro bono, with the aim of creating a sense of community with friendship at the core. "These women are choosing to live there, they're choosing to live together," she said. "There's the shared space, there's the communal garden, but then there's your own space." Ms Atkinson said some of the bigger councils should lead the way, so planners around the country understand how the models work. "That it is not a boarding house, which is the category we have had to have it approved," she said. "The first couple of years will be the real test."