Isabelle (not her real name)is a single mother fromthe Bega Valley and, despite renting all her life, she has recently found herself without a place to call home.<\/p>\n
The 42-year-old has spent more than six months applying for rentals across New South Wales, from places in Wollongong to the Victorian border and up into the Snowy Mountains.<\/p>\n
However, like many in the far south coast area, she hasbeen unsuccessful in securing a place to live.<\/p>\n
\"It's humiliating telling people that we're homeless and it's terrifying,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"Especially being a mother of a 12-year-old child who doesn't know when he's going to have a stable roof over his head.\"<\/p>\n
Mission Australia has helped her family find some temporary accommodation on the far south coast.<\/p>\n
Isabelle relies on her disability pension for income and she is now sleeping at a motel in Eden withher son and her brother.<\/p>\n
She said while she was grateful for a roof over their heads, she was concerned about how long they couldcontinue to pay $600 a week for the two rooms.<\/p>\n
\"It's not something we can afford,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"But there are no options, absolutely no options left, short of sleeping in the car.\"<\/p>\n
Local serviceproviders across the South East of NSW said there simply was not enough housing stock to keep up with the \"ever-increasing\" demand.<\/p>\n
Southern Cross Housing's chief operating officer Eric Coulter said it couldtake more than a decade for people on the list for social housing to get a property.<\/p>\n
\"In our areas, we're looking at a minimum wait time on a social housing waitlist of between fiveand 10 years,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"For some properties, it's beyond 10 years.\"<\/p>\n
However, Mr Coulter said to fix the issue there needed to be input from everybody.<\/p>\n
\"While we need to lead the way [to fix] homelessness and the ongoing crisis it's not just a government or not-for-profit solution,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It needs everybody to be involved in it.\"<\/p>\n
Isabelle believesvoters need to think about the housing crisis during the upcoming Bega and Monaro by-electionson February 12.<\/p>\n
She said it was time for the government to take urgent action and properlyaddress the issue.<\/p>\n
\"The people that we are voting for are the ones that have our lives literally in their hands and they need to step up,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"That's what they're paid for.\"<\/p>\n
Last week, the NSW government announced $30 million to address the housing crisis. Eligible councils can apply for $1.4 million each to fast-track the supply of shovel-ready land for homes.<\/p>\n
Liberal candidate for the Bega by-election Fiona Kotvjos said the funding was just one of the many strategies needed to address the issue.<\/p>\n
\"This announcement is one announcement that will help address housing and there is a range of strategies that we need to take,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"A lot of the real challenges that we face are a consequence of a lack of a really integrated approach and that's what we need to do.\"<\/p>\n
Both major party candidates are yet torelease any specific policies that they would bring to government if elected but agreed more money and work was needed to address the issue.<\/p>\n
Labor's Bega candidateMichael Hollandsaid government taxes could be better usedto address the shortages.<\/p>\n
\"They're raising lots of taxes through housing with stamp duty, land taxes, and the taxes that they raise through Airbnb,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"That could be fed back into supporting housing.\"<\/p>\n
Isabelle said, regardless of the by-election result, politicians needed to use their positions of power to make meaningful change for vulnerable Australians.<\/p>\n
\"I don't even know where I'm going next week, living pay chequeto pay cheque,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"I'm having to ask for help from services and [politicians] couldn't even imagine the humiliation of that.<\/p>\n
\"You can build a house but let us make it a home.\"<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Go here to read the rest: <\/p>\n
Housing crisis must be focus of Bega, Monaro by-elections, say people experiencing homelessness - ABC News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Isabelle (not her real name)is a single mother fromthe Bega Valley and, despite renting all her life, she has recently found herself without a place to call home. Continue reading