Issue Five:
Homes for Older Women (HOW) Program
Homes for Older Women (HOW) is a community program that connects local homeowners with older women needing safe, affordable housing. Volunteers dedicate considerable time coordinating the personalised match and wraparound support with community organisations, government, and services. This preserves dignity, safety, and stability for older women while strengthening local connections and wellbeing. Developed from 2023 and launched in 2024 by the Older Women’s Network Blue Mountains, the program arose as a direct response to the well-documented and growing housing insecurity experienced by older women, whose homelessness is often hidden and undercounted (Stone et al, 2023). Rather than relying solely on the formal real estate market, HOW draws on trusted local networks to identify safe and affordable housing options. Importantly, HOW’s goal is to be deeply relational and empathetic in its approach. This program does not reduce women to their housing status; instead, it recognises and values their identities, strengths, and connections to their communities, and offers safety and respect throughout the entire process.
“There is recognition that when people feel connected to a place, it is associated with improvements in mental and physical health and wellbeing, and higher quality of life.” – Rong, Ristevski & Carroll, 2023
HOW demonstrates an intersectional lens by recognising the interconnected and compounding factors of gender, ageing, health, income inequality, trauma, and social isolation, and their impact in increasing older women’s risk of housing insecurity compared to other groups (Craig & Hastings, 2024). It treats housing insecurity as a complex and ever-evolving issue, and aims to address broader social and wellbeing needs beyond housing alone, including mental health, community connection, and financial security. The program supports women from a range of backgrounds and life situations that have increased their risk of homelessness. These include women on Age Pension or Disability Support Pension, women still working full-time, women experiencing physical or mental health challenges, and women escaping domestic violence or living in unstable housing situations (García-Valverde et al, 2025). Furthermore, through close collaboration with supporters such as Red Dot Animal Programs, the program has helped women secure pet-friendly accommodation in order to be able to keep their pets. This collaboration acknowledges that being able to keep pets during turbulent times can be critical to maintaining emotional wellbeing, and also ensures that the pets continue to be taken care of despite their owners’ living situation. HOW understands that ensuring housing security for older women means recognising the multiple overlapping social, economic, health, and gender-based factors, and responding to them in a way that prioritises dignity, compassion and safety.
HOW’s emphasis on community connection and holistic support reflects the trusted, place-based, integrated service model underpinning the program. The program demonstrates that having a deep understanding of the local community results in the ability to respond quickly, flexibly, and compassionately to emerging issues. HOW collaborates with local volunteers, community organisations, businesses, and government agencies to create wraparound support for women which helps to maintain social bonds within the community as well as lower the risk of isolation (Eastwood et al, 2020). Rather than relying on real estate agencies, the program makes the connections themselves, with volunteers spending significant time matching local homeowners with older women who are seeking safe, stable, and affordable accommodation. This approach prioritises trust and safety for the homeseeker, which strengthens Older Women’s Network’s existing relationships within the community and provides a solid foundation to ensure the longevity of the program (Rong, Ristevski & Carroll, 2023). The volunteers also support intake calls, gather information about available properties, coordinate matches, and support administration and fundraising. By leaning into local community connections and utilising existing community housing resources such as granny flats, spare rooms, studios, and vacant homes, HOW broadens housing options and creates locally driven solutions to the housing crisis.
This program has been supported through community donations, local business partnerships and public support. The program has so far housed more than 87 women and received hundreds of expressions of interest from homeowners; one particular milestone involved the donation of an entire house which then became a co-living space housing three women. Partnerships with organisations including Blue Mountains City Council, Upper Mountains Sunrise Rotary Club, and Helloworld Glenbrook allow the program to draw on local expertise and connect women with wraparound support. Ultimately, the program’s deeply-embedded local connections and insight into local need demonstrates how communities can utilise local knowledge, relationships, and compassion to deliver integrated, person-centred initiatives that address both housing insecurity and social connection for older women.
Evidence in practice
Implementing an intersectional lens involves understanding the overlapping systems of inequality, and how they impact and influence a person’s power and place within existing social structures (Craig & Hastings, 2024). Research tells us that older women are affected by homelessness particularly acutely, with gender inequality, greater susceptibility to violence, financial disadvantage, and other compounding risk factors increasing older women’s risk of homelessness as they age (García-Valverde et al, 2025; Craig & Hastings, 2024).
Local, trusted, place-based, integrated services use local partnerships and networks to develop coordinated and integrated initiatives, to produce positive outcomes for clients in the local communities to which they belong. This helps organisations to effectively respond to local needs and priorities as they emerge, allows for tailored wraparound support to be delivered, build trust, and maintains their long-standing relationships within the community (Eastwood et al, 2020; Rong, Ristevski & Carroll, 2023).
References
Craig, L. & Hastings, C. (2024). Intersectionality of gender and age (‘gender*age’): a critical realist approach to explaining older women’s increased homelessness. Journal of Critical Realism, 23(4), 361-383. Available from https://doi.org/10.1080/14767430.2024.2389675
Eastwood J, Barmaky, S., Hansen, S., Miller, E., Ratcliff, S., Fotheringham, P., Coupland, H. & De Souza, D. (2020). Refining Program Theory for a Place-Based Integrated Care Initiative in Sydney, Australia. International Journal of Integrated Care, 20(3): 13, 1–16. Available from https://doi.org/10.5334/ijic.5422
García-Valverde, E., Picado-Valverde, Macho, E.A.Y. & Guzmán-Ordaz, R. (2025). Risk factors in women experiencing homelessness from an ecological and intersectional perspective: A systematic review. International Social Work, 68(5), 1-28. Available from https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728251336953
Rong, T., Ristevski, E., & Carroll, M. (2023). Exploring community engagement in place-based approaches in areas of poor health and disadvantage: A scoping review. Health & Place, 81, 103026. Available from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829223000631
Stone, W., Reynolds, M., Veeroja, P., Power, E. R., Perugia, F., & James, A. (2023). Ageing in a housing crisis: Older people’s insecurity and homelessness in Australia, Swinburne University of Technology. Available from https://doi.org/10.26185/87bq-4190
