Emily Elliott shares her experience with homelessness as number of women on streets across WA jumps 150pc

The changing face of homelessness is continuing to shock service providers, following a 150 per cent jump in women living on the streets. Advocacy group ShelterWA said 574 women are on the By Name list, which documents rough sleepers in the key regions of Perth, Bunbury, Rockingham, Mandurah and Geraldton. The figures, released this week during Homelessness Week, show a massive jump in female rough sleepers compared to 232 women in April 2022. The swift rise coincides with evidence that two in three women are also the biggest cohort of another form of homelessness, which involves lack of safe and secure housing. It is a situation ShelterWA advocate Emily Elliott experienced last year while working part-time and studying for a double degree at university. Ms Elliott was a married university student when evicted from her long-term rental in 2021, landing in a market where she was competing with 70 other applicants at home inspections. After a brief stint living in her car and the breakdown of her marriage, she ended up in a Forrestfield share house, paying $90 a week for a property not fit for humans. The front door was held shut by a shoelace, the oven was padlocked and the back door fell off its frame when moved. The bathroom grout was thick with dirt even after heavy bleaching, while the plumbing was so poor that human waste would bubble up the drainpipes and into the bathroom. The exhaust fans did not work and black mould grew throughout the house, leaving Ms Elliott with a persistent cough. The property was infested with mice, cockroaches, ants and mosquitoes, and there were so many electrical failures that the housemates had to power appliances by hooking multiple power boards together. There was no heating, cooling or insulation. A thermometer on a portable air conditioner she eventually managed to buy showed the temperature was 47C in her room in summer. Ms Elliott said the reality of homelessness is that it defies stereotypes. ”When people think of homelessness, they think of drug and alcohol problems,” she said. “But I was working, I was a university student, I was married. I did all the things society expects you to do - and I was homeless.” She was eventually evicted after the housemate who held the lease failed to pay the rent, despite regular payment from the housemates. Ms Elliott again found herself homeless and living in car before getting into another share house this year, costing $250 a week. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s latest regional breakdown shows 9467 people were identified as homeless across the State while 13,142 were at risk of homelessness. Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show two-thirds of those who seek help at specialist homeless services are women. About one-in-three are children aged 0 to 17, and about one in 10 are over 55 years old. Shelter WA chief executive Kath Snell said there were 9467 homeless people in the State, with a further 13,142 at risk of homelessness. “These figures are heartbreaking. Too many Western Australians, including women and children, are teetering on the edge of homelessness or already caught in its grip,” Ms Snell said. She called for stronger investment in early intervention and homelessness prevention. “Ending homelessness is within reach and prevention remains a critical and cost-effective approach to address the crisis,” Ms Snell said. “There is a human and economic imperative to dedicate additional resourcing to all forms of prevention. “With timely support, we can help avoid the trauma and risks associated with rough sleeping and housing instability. “This means working together from all levels of government to grassroots community groups, and acting early to provide housing stability, rental support and access to services before families reach breaking point.”