How tiny homes for older women facing homelessness are saving lives
Homelessness is becoming a bigger issue each year for older women, and Kim Connolly who is the founder of Tiny Habitat Homes understands that it is a problem that must be addressed.
Which is why she created a solution to aide ageing women with housing issues in 2017.
While the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports over 6860 ladies aged over 55 were classified as homeless in 2016, which is 5234 more since 2011, Kim told The Senior these stats might not be entirely correct.
While the massive jump is a concern, the former high school teacher explained the number did not reveal the full extent of the issue as many women would choose not to ask for help after facing homelessness or becoming homeless.
Kim Connolly came up with the idea to offer transportable, affordable and tiny village homes as a method to decrease homelessness after multiple conversations with women her age admitted they were struggling with financial difficulties.
“Over and over again women kept coming to me and saying, 'I'm going to be homeless, if not in the next few months, in the next few years',” Ms Connolly told ABC News.
“I found out all the statistics and research and I didn't have an answer, [but] I love tiny houses and I thought, 'That's it, I'm going to build one'.”
Ms Connolly developed such a passion for her housing-solution idea, she set up her village-building business, with a plan to create a community of 15 tiny houses to majorly occupy women.
Currently, Ms Connolly is in the process of setting up a not-for-profit organisation to help make her tiny village concept.
She said: “It's women who are just like me and they're shaking their heads saying, 'I don't know how this happened, I never thought I'd end up in this situation'.”
“My idea of the village would be 15 houses — there would be three houses that are rental houses, the other 12 would be owned by the occupants, there'd be two couples and the other 10 houses would be all older women,” Ms Connolly explained.