In a free event at Kiama Leagues Club on August 7, titled Her Story, Our Crisis: Homelessness Among Older Women aims to raise awareness of the plight of older women at risk of homelessness, and to foster conversation about this largely invisible issue in the Kiama regions.

The internationally acclaimed short film FRANCES will be screened which is a film made in the Illawarra by filmmaker Sharon Lewis about a problem which is becoming increasingly prevalent in society with the many living pressures attributed to displaced persons.  

“The film shot in the Illawarra is a fictional story, but is based on the very real circumstances about an older woman who has had a divorce and is finding it difficult to secure rental accommodation she is living in her car,” South Illawarra Older Women’s Network (SIOWN) foundation committee member Julie McDonald said.

“The character has a lot of pride and dignity but the film shows her declining health, both physically and emotionally, as well as safety, as she tries to keep herself going, and living in a precarious existence.”

The event will also hold a Q&A with Lewis (producer and director) and a panel discussion highlighting the increase in older women experiencing homelessness, cost of living pressures, and the changes to create and maintain safer, more secure futures for older women.

“The panel includes Yumi Lee the CEO from the Older Women’s Network of NSW, Penny Dordoy the CEO of Supported Accommodation and Homelessness Services Shoalhaven Illawarra (SAHSSI) and Kim Bailey, who is an older woman with lived experience,” McDonald said.

With a recently published snapshot analysis by Homelessness Australia, there was a 20% increase in women and girls who were already homeless across the last three years.

Speaking passionately to The Bugle regarding the issue of homelessness specifically for older women, McDonald explained that the closest refuges for women in the Kiama region are in the Shoalhaven and Wollongong.

With no crisis or transitional short-term accommodation in Kiama, this highlights that the existing accommodation does not specifically consider nor meet the needs of older women.

“You just can’t have older women going to just an ordinary [service], like homelessness services that predominantly serve men,” McDonald said. 

“They have got to be gender specific in that sense. Particularly because a lot of them [the cases] are about women escaping.”

Through the advocacy work by a small group of local women who identified the need to have information available on Kiama council website on crisis services. This information is now available.

According to the Australian Homelessness Monitor 2024, of the 118 responding councils across Australia, 88 per cent established partnerships with specialist homelessness services (including referral pathways).

While important, these initiatives do not address the needs of older women at risk of homelessness who McDonald explains are rarely visible as what rough sleepers are.

“A lot of older women aren’t rough sleepers; they tend to be quite invisible. They may be living in their car, couch surfing, or living in a caravan,” McDonald said.

McDonald is a former senior research fellow at the University of New South Wales at the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity and has published multiple research papers.

This event is the initiative of the Older Women’s Network (South Illawarra), Kiama Community Radio and SAHSSI and is held during Homelessness Week which runs from August 4-10.

This is a free event, and all are welcome. Patrons are advised to book tickets in advance via Humantix, with the link below. RSVP by Sunday August 4, 2025 https://events.humanitix.com/homelesswomen

Donations are appreciated to help offset event costs and any funds will go to SAHSSI.

If you or someone you know needs support with homelessness in the Kiama region, head to https://www.kiama.nsw.gov.au/Services/People-and-community/Homelessness for relevant information.

If you or someone you know needs support, reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.