Essay: Homelessness: Women Aged 55 and Over (critical essay)

The intention of this critical essay is to provide an insight and understanding into homelessness of older women in Australia and to stipulate suggestions to help reduce and potentially resolve this issue, in terms of recognition, access and equality. Knowledge and understanding about the nature of homelessness in older women in today’s society is very limited, as well as how it can be alleviated. Due to the significance of this issue on the lives and rights of many Australians every day, something needs to be done immediately about this before it gets any worse. Therefore, an understanding of the nature and extent of homelessness of older women is needed, as well as an understanding of why this issue is occurring, in order to provide solutions for this social justice issue, in an attempt to reduce its effect on society.
Foremost, an understanding of homelessness in older women must be established as the general knowledge and understanding about this social justice issue is currently very limited. This lack of knowledge can be seen to be because older women’s homelessness is often kept out of view from the public. However, it was found between 2011 and 2016 older women was the fastest developing category of homeless people in Australia (…..). The 2016 census also predicted that there were 6,866 homeless older women, with another 5,820 older women living in marginal housing and at risk of homelessness (…..). This census demonstrated a 31% increase of homelessness of older women in Australia between 2011 and 2016 (…..). It is predicted that due to the hidden nature of older women’s homelessness, these figures are likely statistically understated therefore an understatement of the true extent of this issue (.….). These older women who are experiencing homelessness tend to stay with family or friends, live in heavily overcrowded houses, where they are constantly under threat of violence or can be physically hiding away from society (.….). Due to the socioeconomic landscape older women reside in, they are more likely than men to end up homeless later in life, with this risk being increased by lack of secure affordable housing suitable for older Australians (…..). This increases the risk of women left homelessness to a single crisis with little to no warning whatsoever (…..). The number of older women suffering from and at the risk of homelessness is anticipated to continue to grow drastically over the next coming years, unless effective strategies and systems are adopted (…..). It is through these statistics and preliminary research that it is clearly evident that something is required to be done in order to reduce and potentially solve this justice issue of older women’s homelessness, in terms of recognition, access and equality.
To understand how to help reduce and potentially resolve homelessness of older women in Australia, it must first be comprehended the nature and risk factors surrounding this social justice issue. This understanding must be made clear, as there is very limited understanding about the nature and extent of older women’s homelessness in Australia. There are many influencing factors and circumstances as to why older women are faced with homelessness for the first time later in life. These risk factors for older women’s homelessness consist of being single, renting, living alone, suffering economic disadvantage, facing family and domestic violence, absence of family support and loss of a partner or relationship breakdowns. Personal factors include mental health, history of abuse and not being sufficiently educated, as well as experiencing a crisis, such as the loss of a job, illness or eviction (…..). All of the above risk factors need to be recognised and solutions need to be made for them in order to resolve this social justice. For many people, homelessness is a result of compounding issues and factors, however for some older women it can be a result of a single crisis or a change in circumstances with little to no warning (…..). This demonstrates homelessness as a social justice issue as inequality is seen here with one sole crisis meaning immediate homelessness for some older women. This is an inequality as everyone should have the same right and opportunity to have somewhere to live. Another large contributing factor to the homelessness of older women is the lack of access to affordable, appropriate and secure housing for the elderly in Australia. A report in 2018 reveals, that less than 2% of available housing in Australia was affordable and suitable for a single person on an age pension (…..). This highlights homelessness as a social justice issue as there can be seen a lack of access to the rights for older women, increasing the risks of homelessness. However, it is fundamental for services looking to reduce and fight against homelessness in older women to provide affordable, appropriate and secure housing (…..). Therefore, an understanding of the nature and risk factors surrounding homelessness of older women assists in developing solutions to help reduce and potentially resolve this social issue.
After gaining an insight and understanding into this social justice issue of homelessness of older women in Australia, the significance and enormity of this issue should be clear and the need for support and services to help reduce and potentially resolve this social justice issue is enormous. There is a real need for more support for older women when experiencing or at the risk of homelessness, as older women report that they are not sure where to look for help, or when being homeless for the first time, feel uncomfortable and ashamed of themselves and their situation and feel intimidated to approach services tailored for their needs. In the literature, many solutions have been discovered which could help to reduce older women’s risk of homelessness, such as programs to help women buy a home, more affordable housing targeted to older women, optimising use of existing housing, and providing tailored tenancy and other supports to help women find and sustain appropriate rental accommodation and optimise their financial position as they near retirement (…..). In order to ensure that the rights of homeless older women are met, recognition, planning and integration between the health, aged care and disability sectors is needed (…..). It is also important to note the importance for the need for long-term national approaches to be developed to ensure adequate support is accessible (…..). Fundamentally, social and institutional changes are necessary to address many of the factors that contribute to the homelessness for older women in Australia. Women’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and societal expectations that women should play a caregiving role compounds the risk for homelessness, as well as the associated stigma, shame and trauma. Long-term Federal and State/Territory commitments are needed to address poverty, the lack of affordable, appropriate and secure housing, and ensuring the long-term availability of appropriate services specialised in supporting older people who have experienced homelessness. If some of these approaches were to be implemented effectively and appropriately, in terms of recognition, access and equality, to meet the rights of homeless older women, then hopefully we will see a reduce and potentially a resolution to this social justice issue.
To conclude, the significance of older women’s homelessness as a social justice issue has been made clear, in terms of recognition, access and equality. Through the use of literature and reason, some suggestions have been stipulated about approaches that can and will reduce, and possibly provide a solution, to the amount of older women experiencing and at risk of homelessness in Australia significantly. It is now explicitly clear-cut that something needs to be done immediately about this issue, otherwise the number of homeless older women will continue to grow exponentially and grow out of hand.