Older women are now the fastest-growing group experiencing homelessness in Australia, and record numbers are being pushed into crisis by eviction from long term rentals and then being unable to afford rapidly rising rents. In this powerful episode of Community Matters, host Nicky Sloan sits down with Sabrina Hissey, Acting Operations Manager of ROCC for Women, a Specialist Homelessness Service delivering case management to women who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness in the Illawarra.

Sabrina unpacks the complex and often overlapping challenges facing the women ROCC supports. From contact with the justice system, mental health struggles, social isolation, drug and alcohol issues, and family and domestic violence. She explains how the service works alongside women to set their own goals, building trust and close relationships over time, while empowering them toward independence at their own pace. ROCC's approach is refreshingly human, they work with women to figure out their own goals, then walk alongside them, building the kind of trust that only comes from showing up consistently, over time.

The conversation doesn't shy away from the hard realities of a fractured system: a three-year wait for priority housing, even a lengthy waitlist at ROCC itself, and clients sleeping rough while they wait for support. Sabrina stresses why early engagement is critical, and why community members have a role to play too in paying attention, staying curious, and reaching out when someone they know might need help.

Listeners will hear about ROCC's peer support initiatives, designed to combat isolation through non-judgmental, paid peer mentoring, and how Sabrina and Sabrina's own reflections on how she and her team look after themselves doing such complex and emotionally challenging work.

Despite a recent shift to greater certainty with a welcome five-year funding model, demand continues to outpace resources. As Nicky points out, Australia is the second wealthiest country in the world, so the issue isn't a lack of housing as such, but its unequal distribution. Sabrina closes with a moving reminder: "Homelessness is something that can happen to all of us," alongside the incredible story of one woman whose tenacity ultimately led her from the depths of crisis to a private rental and a job.

This episode is a reminder that dignity, stability and a safe place to live shouldn't depend on your bank balance and that hope and a belief in a brighter future, even when things feel bleak, are not misplaced but essential.

Links:

• ROCC for Women website: https://roccforwomen.org.au/#hero