Share the warmth this winter.
As winter sets in, more older women are being pushed into homelessness. Many come to our services for the very first time, frightened and uncertain about what lies ahead. Your urgent donation today can help ensure they receive the care, housing support, and dignity they deserve.
Uniting Winter Appeal
“For the first time in my life, I was actually frightened.”
At 73, Edith* found herself homeless, living in a van in isolated bushlands without electricity or running water.
“It’s a sense of hopelessness,” she shares. “You don’t know what to do or where to go. If it wasn’t for Uniting … I don’t know what I would have done.”
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Your compassion can make this winter safe and hopeful for women like Edith living in fear of homelessness. Every gift, big or small, can have a real impact
Where the money goes
Your compassion can make this winter safe and hopeful for women like Edith living in fear of homelessness. Every gift, big or small, can have a real impact
Homelessness is rising fast for older women.
Between 2018 and 2024, older people (55+) were the fastest growing group experiencing homelessness.
Research released in 2020 by The Conversation revealed that around 165,000 women aged 45-54 and 240,000 women aged over 55 are teetering the edge of homelessness. The majority of these women have never been homeless before.
This was Edith’s experience. At 73 she should have been enjoying retirement. Instead, after years of working she found herself homeless.
Despite receiving the aged-care pension, Edith was unable to afford a private rental and struggled to pay for her basic needs. Her age and poor health made the harsh realities of homelessness even more challenging.
“Those gale force winds and the floods and just the hopelessness,” shares Edith. “I’m going to cry … I don’t want that kind of life for anybody.”
*Some details such as names have been changed to respect the wishes of the people featured. The photo accompanying this story is for illustrative purposes only. It is not a photo of the people featured in this story.