Co-Funded by Perpetual Guardian ($200, 000), The Selwyn Foundation ($200, 000) and Good Shepherd NZ ($50, 000)
More than half of New Zealand’s homeless population are women, their number tops 57,000, and older women are increasingly affected by homelessness[1]. A new community-focused package of support is in the works to support single older women into housing.
The Selwyn Foundation, Good Shepherd New Zealand, and the legacies of Sir Ernest Hyam Davis and Yvonne (Mollie) Carr – managed by Perpetual Guardian – have joined forces to fund, design and pilot a new support service in Auckland [and Northland] to increase single older women’s access to healthy, secure, affordable homes that meet their needs.
A research report last year by the Coalition to End Women’s Homelessness pointed to growth in the homelessness of older women. It highlighted that Wahine Māori are overrepresented and disproportionately impacted by homelessness – four out of five homeless women identify as Māori. Severely housing deprived women were most likely to be Auckland based.
Lower average salaries, economic harm from family violence, and higher representation in casual and part-time work make retirement saving harder for women. Single older women can therefore face critical financial barriers to stable and suitable housing and are susceptible to life shocks such as divorce and widowhood, along with rising living costs. Furthermore, the number of people entering their senior years as renters is increasing, and about 40% of single older women have a disability. Much of the housing stock is not designed to accommodate the physical needs of older people.
Financial barriers to single older women accessing appropriate housing also include money for bond, advance rent, connection to utilities, essential appliances, and small modifications to make a home safe and accessible.
The new programme aims to make housing more accessible for this cohort, achieve this in innovative and impactful ways, and increase understanding of ageing women’s hidden housing struggles to further reduce financial barriers. Through leveraging the services of Good Shepherd, and working alongside local service providers, the social lending-based service will explore a range of tools and mechanisms – these range from no-interest loans through to referrals to access local suppliers to modify houses for disabled women.
Good Shepherd, supported by The Selwyn Foundation, will undertake a co-design phase with in-community service providers and impacted older women to set up the pathway and then implement/evaluate a pilot of tools and wrap around services alongside other local providers.
The pilot is co-funded by Sir Ernest Hyam Davis and Yvonne (Mollie) Carr legacies – stewarded by Perpetual Guardian ($200,000), The Selwyn Foundation ($200,000), and Good Shepherd ($50,000). Kirsten Kilian-Taylor, Head of Philanthropy at Perpetual Guardian, says:
“The Selwyn Foundation and Good Shepherd NZ are doing great work in spaces that align beautifully to the legacies of Sir Ernest Hyam Davis and Mollie Carr and their heart intentions that our older generations are supported into housing, avoid homelessness and move beyond deprivation and financial insecurity. Strategic partnerships like this bring the financial scale, cost efficiencies, skill specialisations and rigour around evaluation needed to move the dial on critical social issues. This is an exciting collaboration, and we look forward to working together to help lift older women out of hardship and increase their financial and holistic wellbeing.”
The issue of older single women facing financial barriers to living in healthy, secure affordable and suitable homes has become a pervasive and growing crisis in New Zealand. The population is ageing, putting more pressure on the tax base and housing funding, so smart collaborations like this pilot are critical – by 2028, one million people are expected to be 65+ years old.
Good Shepherd focusses on helping women, girls and their families who are experiencing harm or hardship – for this cohort of older single women, it will adapt its existing toolkit, which includes its social lending (GoodLoans) service and family violence economic harm service. The Selwyn Foundation champions initiatives that enable respectful ageing for vulnerable older people. Through its funding initiatives and work with strategic partners, it seeks to be an enabler of positive change and of more equitable outcomes for seniors with great need.
Denise Cosgrove, Chief Executive at The Selwyn Foundation, says: “This new partnership is an important initiative in The Selwyn Foundation’s wider charitable mission to enable vulnerable older people to age with dignity and respect and to support them to age in place in their own homes and communities. Through this work, we aim to remove the financial barriers for some single older women accessing safe and stable housing. We also seek to contribute to the social sector’s understanding of the experience of older women, the challenges they face and how best to assist them. This often invisible population is projected to increase even further; unless there’s targeted intervention and investment such as this, we’re likely to see a continued growth in the number of single older women experiencing homelessness and housing deprivation in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
Emma Saunders, Chief Executive at Good Shepherd NZ, says “We are thrilled to be partnering with two organisations with a strong track record for supporting women into their later stages of life. Women often suffer from more invisible forms of homelessness like living in cars, garages, or on friend’s couches. Our new pilot aims to increase single older women’s access to healthy, secure, affordable homes. Good Shepherd’s financial wellbeing services and tools will be part of an innovative and community-focused package of support helping women experiencing financial difficulties and barriers to living in stable housing as they age.”
Perpetual Guardian has been providing estate planning options for New Zealanders for over 145 years, alongside of which they also enact the wishes of philanthropists like former Auckland Mayor Sir Ernest and Mollie, to provide social support to older people experiencing poverty and homelessness.
For further information / potential involvement in the pilot process and service, contact Emma Saunders at emma.saunders@goodshepherd.org.nz.
[1] https://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/news/new-data-highlights-urgent-need-for-a-coordinated-response-to-homelessness-across-the-nation/