Birds Nest Australia

$50,000

PER YEAR

$6,000

PER VILLAGE CLUSTER
(10SHGS)

$30

PER WOMEN TO
JOIN A SHG

“Home is where one starts from.” – TS Elliott.

When we think of Australia, we don’t think of people being homeless. In fact, we see ownership of the family home as an essential component of the Australian dream. But homelessness – “the condition of lacking safe, stable and functional housing” – is an increasing reality for many Australians.

And over recent years, did you know the fastest growing cohort facing homelessness are women over the age of 55 (Mission Australia Report 2021)? In fact, by the time a woman reaches 60, 34% single women in Australia live in poverty with many experiencing housing stress or homelessness.

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Birds Nest Australia Stories

$120,000

PER YEAR

$6,000

PER VILLAGE CLUSTER
(10SHGS)

$600

PER SELF HELP
GROUP

$30

PER WOMEN TO
JOIN A SHG

Our Goals

What do the numbers tell us?

165,000 women 45 to 55
240,000 women over 55
At risk of homelessness in Australia
(HAAG & Social Ventures Australia, 2020 Report)

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Why is this happening?

Invariably poverty & homelessness is due to a confluence of factors – and the same is true for older women:

Insufficient superannuation or savings due to lifetime of unpaid caring roles, casual work and part time work (women make up over two-thirds of Australia’s primary carers and 55 per cent of all carers).
Death, separation or divorce of spouse and lack of resources to pursue support or equitable asset distribution.
Women are at least three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner and escaping an abusive relationship can take a financial toll on women who may also need to leave work and find new accommodation.
Many women without income opportunities due to limited experience, low education levels, poor health and having been forced out of the workforce early due to systemic age and gender discrimination in the workforce.
Ageing leading to increased health and wellbeing challenges.
A chronic lack of affordable and appropriate housing in a housing system based on a private rental market and public housing prioritising families or adults caring for children.

While it is clear that women suffer from lifelong structural settings that have undermined their financial security, the state of the current housing market is pushing so many women from housing stress into homelessness. In practice, hundreds of thousands of women who rely on the private rental market are at considerable risk of housing affordability stress and hence homelessness.

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What can we do?

The “falling out” of a home is often sudden and unexpected. Sometimes because of a major event or often a result of ignoring the problem – no one wants to think it might happen to them. But is a traumatic and difficult experience to be considering entering a homeless refuge for the first time at such a late age. So, we need transitional housing. This is a good first step for women without options wanting to avoid homelessness and steady the ship. It is important to find sufficient stability and safety in a safe place that allows time to plan a next step.

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How will Foxglove help?

From the outset, Foxglove will partner with organizations already working with the women facing homelessness. In 2023/2024, we are raising funds to support the St Bart’s Women’s Service, a transitional home supporting 28 women at any one time who are at risk of homelessness. Each woman has a private room with ensuite or shared bathrooms around a common cooking, recreation, garden and sitting area. A case manager helps each woman to develop a personalised recovery plan, the goal of which is independence and a safe place to live long-term. Birds Nest Australia is proud to support such a brilliant project from a tried-and-true community group.

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Why help?

We cannot ignore the needs around us without losing part of our own humanity. We cannot rely on Government to meet each woman’s need and ignore the likelihood that these women will fall through the cracks. Instead, we can step forward and help the one. And then the second. Knowing each time we do, we are building a social fabric of care and kindness that will bring its own reward.