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News & Events

Loneliness is the New Smoking

In Category - News Date - 29/05/2018

As the housing crisis worsens, what happens to single women who don’t own a home, who are getting older and don’t have family to fall back on?

The Women's Housing Company, CEO, Debbie Georgopoulos, along with Katherine McKernan, CEO of Homelessness NSW; Jenny Leong, Greens MP for Newtown; and theatre director Marion Potts were on a panel hosted by the ABC's Monique Schafter, entitled Loneliness is the New Smoking on Saturday 26 May.

The discussion looked at the growing number of vulnerable older women, who find themselves with limited means and at increased risk of homelessness. According to the last census, the number of homeless older women increased by 31% across Australia, with over 24,000 single women on the waiting list for social housing in NSW alone.

The panel followed a performance of Good Cook. Friendly. Clean. The story of Sandra—a woman in her late 50s who finds herself slipping through the cracks of Sydney’s ruthless rental market. The production is on at the SBW Stables in Kings Cross until 16 June.