Housing and mental health.

[calmseeker]

Hi All,

I have been thinking lately about the link between good mental health and housing. Yet again, I have a pending move, which I know is a trigger for my anxiety. I tend to get quite ill after a move, there have been too many moves for me recently. mostly because am in the private housing market and my owners always either move back into their property or sell the property. I yearn for a stable, long term home (I could never afford to buy). I am such a 'homely' person. I feel that if I could remain somewhere for a reasonable amount of time I could really relax and focus on my mental health, I feel like I never can, I am always moving or catching up financially from a move or trying to settle in somewhere new. The cost is phenomenal to rent now, it really blows my mind. What a person needs to come up with for a rental property is quite a lot, not just the rent itself but the moving costs, cleaning of previous property, etc.

I am aware of NRAS but those properties rarely come up. Housing Dep have told me 10-15 plus year wait. Private market ridiculously expensive.

I am very thankful to even have a roof over my head, don't get me wrong (not that I can afford that roof though). I realise there are lots of people who don't even have a home so I am really not ungrateful, just sick of the stress that comes with searching for affordable, decent housing where I can hopefully lay my hat for a few years. A home should be a place where a person can feel safe and relaxed and heal and survive - not feel like a hotel. My ranting was not meant to actually be a big whinge about my situation (sorry if its turned out that way!) more so just a comment on the link between good mental health and stable housing really.

[Hanna3]

Thanks for the chuckle Katy! Yes I used to make people squirm - in the little town near Coastal Town they were planning to put in public housing and a couple of people said to me "We don't want public housing here what sort of people will we get in this town" and I'd just say "I live in public housing" and watch them squirm... horrible I guess but sometimes people need a wake up call...

And I totally agree, every time people complain about the current government I keep saying Well my conscience is clear, I didn't vote for them"...

I once lived in a suburb of Melbourne that had a boarding house for men only at the end of one street. Mostly they were men with severe psychiatric problems. They were no trouble at all. The lovely woman who cared for them all adored them, she was like their mum. I used to love talking to her and she showed me around the place... Nobody in the suburb minded them. It was kept clean and tidy and the men had their own vegetable gardens etc.

When I see people protesting about proposals for boarding houses going up in their area because of the type of people they will get, I think of that place and how accepting that particular community was of those men, how they caused no trouble at all, and how much the woman caretaker adored them all... it's very sad people tar all these people with the same brush...

[quirkywords]

Wouldn’t it be good if we looked at people for how they behave and how kind they are but.not because they live in a sort of style of accommodation or the clothes they wear or how they speak. ?

[Hanna3]

Hi calmseeker & all,

In yesterday's (Saturday) Sydney Morning Herald liftout section The Good Weekend, the lead article is on the rise of single, older, women who are homeless. Truly worth a read if you can get hold of it.

[calmseeker]

I have been trying to find that article online. I read something similar a while ago and I think they stated the reasons for this to be high rental prices and little or no superannuation for older single female amongst other issues. Something needs to be done about the situation. This stage of life for women should not be so fraught with anxiety about having somewhere to live.

CS

[calmseeker]

Hi there Hanna, Quirky, Katy and everybody,

I know of a handful of people in public housing and they are wonderful quality humans. It is a shame there is stigma around it. No human is immune to unexpected or unwanted happenings in their life which lead them to need housing. It is always a tiny minority of bad seeds which give everyone else the terrible reputation.

Hope everyone is doing well today wherever they live and whatever roof they have over their heads.

CS

[Hanna3]

Hi calmseeker, it's a host of issues for older women - lower wages. It was rare for women to go on to higher education when I left school. No compulsory superannuation (there wasn't when I was young and working) so they don't have much Super. Time out looking after children or ill or aged family members so they miss out on both pay and superannuation. Inability to get re-employed once you reach your 50s (age discrimination). They've never had enough money to buy a home so they're stuck in private rentals which are unaffordable (plus moving costs etc etc etc as we know). Long wait lists for public housing. They're now by far the biggest group of homeless people. It's dreadful. I'm glad it make the cover and the lead story!

[calmseeker]

Hi Hanna - Did you manage to catch the 7.30 report on housing? While I thought it was interesting, I was hoping they would have touched on other issues. It was pretty much what we all already know, homes are expensive and its difficult buy these days. Sounds like part 2 on renting will be informative though (airing tonight if I am correct?).

[Hanna3]

Yes I've been watching it tonight calmseeker and it's on renters tonight

[Hanna3]

That was quite good tonight on the situation of people renting calmseeker. I just wish I thought there was any hope of our government doing anything about it and I just don't see it happening. I despair a bit....

[calmseeker]

Agreed Hanna, part 2 gave a pretty grim outlook on the renting situation. I felt a it anxious after watching it to be honest. I have been given some good tips and info from yourself and Summer Rose on some possible alternatives to the situation I currently find myself in and I am going to definitely look into these things. Like the Sydney lady said on the episode, "I am living to rent". Its obviously a huge problem for many people and it would be great if our government would do a bit more.