Celebrations
Here it is, IWD, and on this day I will not be celebrating. My celebration will be tomorrow – though today I will be celebrating the life of a wonderful lady who was an inspiration to other women, working in the community and inspiring others.
Tomorrow’s event is being arranged by the Queensland Police, at nearby Redcliffe. Perhaps I will celebration alone – maybe a glass of wine or two!!
Affordable Housing
One of the projects I continue to work on is a co-housing project for senior solo women. I’ve been on this journey for many years. I am so distressed at times about the number of solo women in housing stress.
After my marriage disintegrated, I went house sitting for two years, before doing some travelling around Australia. Then I settled in Beachmere in a private rental. After several years, with the rent increasing while my income did not, I went back housesitting until health issues put an end to that.
The stress of sourcing accommodation nearly did me in. Eventually, I settled in a unit at Deception Bay, but I am not happy here, and know that I will be on the move again. Perhaps towards the end of the year.
Finding Affordable Housing
The financial experts suggest that only 30% of someone’s income should be spent on housing. For many of us, it is in the vicinity of 70%, which is unaffordable, but there is little choice. There are not enough “affordable” houses on the market, governments are not building enough houses to cater for the large number of people in housing stress and women in particular at greater risk of homelessness.
SoSeW
One of the projects I am working on is a Co-Housing project for Senior Solo Women. There is a website with some information – needs updating, but at the moment I am the one that does everything and am behind with some of my tasks. You will also find SoSeW on Facebook.
Co-Housing for Women
Just over 12 months ago I was in the UK – exploring a cohousing project for women. New Ground was officially opened in August 2018. I was lucky to stay at the property for a couple of nights in February 2018 and am convinced that the project would work well in Australia.
It took the UK ladies 16 years to achieve their goal. I hope it doesn’t take so long for us.
