Soon-to-be refurbished units will provide a safe haven for older women experiencing homelessness under a partnership between Fairview Village and Quantum Support Services.

The project will help address an increasing wait list for public housing accommodation in West Gippsland and has been a long-time goal for Fairview Village chief executive officer Dianne Wallace.

Four units currently used for storage by the lifestyle village will be part of the project. Each unit is suitable for a single occupant and includes one bedroom, one bathroom and a kitchen.

Quantum Support Services reported limited public housing options for single women aged 50-years and older.

Soon-to-be refurbished units will provide a safe haven for older women experiencing homelessness under a partnership between Fairview Village and Quantum Support Services.

The project will help address an increasing wait list for public housing accommodation in West Gippsland and has been a long-time goal for Fairview Village chief executive officer Dianne Wallace.

Ms Wallace identified the need following her appointment in April and has wanted to put the old units to use to help older women in the area.

Four units currently used for storage by the lifestyle village will be part of the project. Each unit is suitable for a single occupant and includes one bedroom, one bathroom and a kitchen.

Ms Wallace said when she discussed her goals with Liberal candidate for Narracan Wayne Farnham and Member for Narracan Gary Blackwood earlier in the year they were quick to get on board.

Quantum Support Services acting chief executive Cindy Pullar said more housing was needed, particularly for single older women.

“Public housing has very reduced stock for a single public home and therefore they’re full, so the waiting list is quite high,” she said.

“Women who are single, 50 plus, seeking accommodation, public housing is quite limiting… therefore they do need to look at private rental or other alternative accommodation.”

Ms Pullar said with the cost of private rentals rising and real estates requiring applicants to be able to contribute 30 per cent of their income to rent, many of the women in question are not able to get approved.

She said single women over 50 years old were presenting to Quantum in a number of ways.

Some have experienced the death of a partner and they end up with nowhere to live and others have had to leave their current rentals.

“What they find is a lot of the bills, even the mortgage, whatever they had was in the name of their partner – not in their name,” Ms Pullar explained.

“Therefore, their financial credit history is missing – it’s non-existent – so they find it really difficult to seek a private rental when you need to be providing that history.”

Other women presenting to the support service had been renting successfully, however, their landlord had either sold the property or wanted to move into the property.

Ms Pullar said even if a rental property was put back on the market after being sold to another

Ms Pullar said Quantum had seen an increase in people asking for help in the past 12 months.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in people presenting for the first time,” she said.

“It is really difficult for people to present when they see themselves as those in the community to give to others.”

A number of local businesses will be contributing to the project, several of which have already committed time and resources.

“Fairview has always had a long association with the community…so Gary and I thought there was no reason why we can’t get this done,” Mr Farnham said.
“The community has always supported Fairview, and I’m confident the community will do it again.”

Mr Farnham said all four units would be completely refurbished, with works including new kitchens, floor coverings, fixtures and fittings, and a fresh coat of paint.

“Somewhere safe and comfortable that women can go when they’ve got nowhere to go,” Mr Farnham said.

There are plans for women living in the refurbished units to become involved in the Fairview Village community. Last week Ms Wallace presented the plans for the units to the Village’s independent living residents in a meeting.

“We are one village and so it is important to ensure people have the opportunity to know and understand what we are doing,” she said. “In our discussions here we’ve always wanted to see that the women are welcomed as a member of the village.”

Ms Wallace said the planning team would like to see the women engage in activities like volunteering, socialising, crafting and day trips.
At the moment, the team intends to have work on the units completed by November this year.