‘Having somewhere to call home is so underrated when you’ve lost it so many times due to circumstances outside your own fault. When you finally get it back, and you stand on your own two feet again, it’s a feeling that you can’t really describe.’ – Lauren
For many people, home is more than a place to live. It’s certainty. It’s knowing where you’ll sleep tonight, where your children will wake up tomorrow, and where you can return at the end of a difficult day.
Over the past financial year, Neami’s Safe and Secure Housing Program supported 88 long-term housing outcomes for women and their children experiencing or escaping domestic and family violence. These outcomes represent women and families moving into stable housing and maintaining the security needed to establish a home.
Each outcome reflects significant advocacy, collaboration and persistence from staff, housing providers, domestic and family violence services, community organisations and the women accessing support.
For Lauren, who has accessed support from the program, secure housing changed what everyday life looked like for her family. Before finding stable housing, uncertainty had become part of daily life.
Her children can finally say, ‘I’m going to mum’s house’ or ‘When are we going home?’.
Before that, daily life involved constant uncertainty. Lauren was often trying to answer questions about where they would stay next while making sure her children had a safe place to sleep.
Then that turned into temporary housing more than an hour away from their school, family, friends and everyday routines, before relying on friends and family for somewhere to stay. Trying to hide the anxiety from the children and make sure they had a safe and secure place to sleep.
Today, her children know where home is. They have their own space and the stability that comes with it.
‘There’s somewhere that my kids can say, ‘I’ve got my own room’ or ‘Come look in my room’.’
While the housing outcome was a significant milestone, Lauren says the consistent support she received throughout her journey also made an important difference. ‘Everything, every aspect, consistency, communication, financial stability. Everything that someone needs, it’s been there when I needed it.’
Housing does not remove every challenge a person may face. But it can create the stability needed to focus on what comes next. Lauren hopes others experiencing similar circumstances know that progress is possible, even when the path forward feels overwhelming. ‘It wasn’t your fault that anything went wrong, but you still have to get yourself out of it.’
The Safe and Secure Housing Program’s 88 housing outcomes represent far more than a number.
They represent women and families having a place to call home, children experiencing greater certainty and stability, and opportunities for people to make decisions about what comes next.
Because when people know where home is, more becomes possible.
* Given Lauren’s wish to maintain her privacy, stock imagery has been used to accompany this story.