YWCA Australia and Housing All Australians receives $40,000 for new housing project in Perth.

This week, Homes for Homes generously donated $40,000 towards the YWCA and Housing All Australians Joondanna Project.

Joondanna will transform a dormant aged care facility into a liveable, inclusive and connected community of older women, family violence survivors and women at risk of homelessness, in a well-located suburb of Perth.

The timing could not be better, in the wake of a CHIA and UNSW report that says 640,000 Australian households are under housing stress – either experiencing homelessness, in overcrowded homes or spending over 30% of their income on rent.

In Perth, the proportion of households under housing stress is 5.4%, or 43,500 homes, with families making up 51% of groups under housing stress.

Alf Lay (Group Manager Development, LWP), Dean Mudford (CEO, Development WA), Robyn Mickle (YWCA Australia) and Adrian Talbot (Homes for Homes).

Many of those facing housing stress are single-parent, women-led families and older women. Older women are the fastest-growing group of people facing homelessness in Australia, many for the first time after experiencing a relationship breakdown, workplace ageism or the onset of illness. This is often compounded by a history of part-time or low-paid work due to family care responsibilities and little-to-no superannuation.

The current housing crisis means these women are remaining in unsuitable or unsafe homes and violent situations simply because there is nowhere for them to go. 

We are eager to begin work on the YWCA and Housing All Australians Joondanna Project to provide the stable foundation of housing, giving women a much-needed base to rebuild their lives, and couldn’t have done it without the donation from Homes for Homes.

While at Joondanna, women will be able to reconnect with family members, friends and their communities, return to the work force or commence further training or education, and begin to create the future they want for themselves. Joondanna follows a similar model from the Lakehouse property in Melbourne, that provides short-term accommodation to women over 55 and also recently expanded its capacity to house 59 women at any given time.

YWCA Australia wishes to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we work, live and play and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We recognise First Nations people as the custodians of the lands, seas and skies, with more than 60,000 years of wisdom, connection and relationship in caring for Country.

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