A domestic violence victim who was plunged into six years of homelessness after escaping her abusive ex-husband has called on the government to ensure and boost a program that helped her find a home.
In 2014, 44-year-old Maitland mother Heather Bosworth was evicted from her home after falling behind on rent payments.
In 2012, her ex was sentenced to nine months in jail for domestic violence offenses against her, including stalking, intimidation and breaching an AVO.
But once he was released, he moved to a house on his street, which added to his stress.
The mother of 10 said her anxiety worsened in the weeks before losing her home.
Heather Bosworth was homeless for six years after she tried to escape her perpetrator.
Mrs Bosworth stopped paying her rent and thought that if she was homeless she could “escape” (pictured, a home in western Sydney)
Bosworth said at the time that he believed being homeless was the only way to “escape” his circumstances.
“I didn’t bother paying rent, I got evicted and ended up homeless,” he said.
“It was the only way to escape, going from city to city.”
Bosworth said signs of abuse didn’t start until after they got married in 2011.
‘He was really obsessive and controlling. He tried to take control of my money and then it was verbal and emotional abuse,” she said.
‘He took all my money. If he didn’t buy her alcohol, they would beat me.
“It got so bad I was afraid to leave.”
After his eviction, he spent the next six years homeless, bouncing between bouts of couch-surfing with friends, sleeping on the street, and other temporary and emergency housing arrangements.
‘I stayed where I felt safe, in parks, trains, train stations, even at 24-hour McDonald’s. I would sit there all night to feel safe,” she said.
In 2020, she learned about the Together Home program. The government initiative allows homeless people to rent private rentals that are leased by the government and sublet to community housing providers.
Importantly, participants can also access comprehensive services, such as mental health and legal support, as well as social workers.
From its inception in July 2020 to January 2023, the program has hosted 1,092 clients. About 75 percent of people in the program have kept their rentals.
Brad Braithwaite, CEO of Heather and Hume Community Housing, at last year’s Together Home program graduation
For Mrs Bosworth, the program helped her rebuild her life, describing her home as a “palace”.
Since then, she held down a job in retail, kept her home, and divorced her husband.
“Financially, I couldn’t get a divorce and I didn’t have the support to have anyone serve the papers because of the past between me and the perpetrator, and the paperwork to get to court was just a nightmare.” ‘ she said.
However, the future of Together Home remains unclear and the government is yet to confirm whether it will receive additional funding to meet demand.
The $11.3 million in last year’s budget will allow support packages to be delivered to some clients until 2026.
Homeless NSW, however, has called for an injection of $62 million over the next three years to ensure about 400 more homeless people can access the program.
“New South Wales cannot afford to cut funding again for a program that is at the height of the housing and homelessness crisis when one in two people (accessing homeless services) they’re not getting help,” said Homeless Executive Director Dom Rowe.
Victims of domestic violence represent many of the people accessing homeless services, with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reporting that around 38 per cent of the 104,000 people who accessed specialist homeless services in 2022-23 they had experienced family and domestic violence.
‘Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness. “We can’t solve homelessness without ensuring women and children have a safe place to go,” Ms Rowe said.
‘It is unacceptable that women are forced to choose between staying with an abusive partner or sleeping on the streets. Housing First initiatives like Together Home are essential to ensuring women and children have a safe place to go.
Ms. Bosworth knows firsthand how transformative the program can be.
Domestic Violence NSW chief executive Elise Phillips (pictured) said women escaping domestic violence situations are needed to access housing.
“I have achieved all my goals and more… like getting my mental health back, updating all my medical checks and getting back to how I wanted to be,” she said.
‘I don’t think I could have done it without the support of the Together Home programme, both financially and mentally.
“I want the government to re-fund the program because there are a lot of people in my situation and without it they wouldn’t be able to get safe, long-term housing.”
Domestic Violence NSW chief executive Elise Phillips said it was “vital” to ensure victims and survivors of domestic violence had access to housing when fleeing perpetrators.
However, in New South Wales waiting times for social housing can be between five and ten years, and access is more difficult for people in regional and remote areas.
“Simply put, victim-survivors escaping violence must have a safe place to go,” he said.
“However, a shortage of crisis shelters, transitional accommodation and social housing has meant that women are forced to choose between becoming homeless or remaining in the midst of violence.”
Phillips said he had heard reports of victim-survivors living in their cars or tents to remain mobile and safe from their perpetrators.
“This in itself raises a number of safety concerns and limits the ability of victim-survivors to turn to support services,” he said.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are at even greater risk: AIHW figures show they are almost 11 times more likely to die from assault than other women and 32 times more likely to be hospitalized due to family violence.
NSW Homelessness Minister Rose Jackson (pictured) was unable to guarantee the survival of the housing programme.
The Minnesota government has signaled imminent announcements and funding of housing measures for victims-survivors of domestic violence, recognizing the need to ensure victim-survivors have access to safe housing.
While NSW Homelessness Minister Rose Jackson could not guarantee the continuation of the Together Home program, she acknowledged that “demand for emergency accommodation and long-term housing is not keeping pace with supply” .
‘We know that the Juntos Hogar program has helped many vulnerable people in these situations. “The previous government left this program on a financial cliff without continued investment,” he stated.
Jackson said he could not “get ahead of budget” but pointed to other support packages supporting women and children to escape violence, such as Staying Home, Leaving Violence, which recently saw a $48 million investment through the package $230 million emergency government grant to support victim-survivors of domestic violence.
“Basically, we desperately need more long-term social housing for women and children coming out of violence,” she said.
‘We have established Homes NSW and are undertaking the government land audit to accelerate this work. We are delivering the $600 million Social Housing Accelerator and negotiating intensively with the Commonwealth to raise funds through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, as well as undertaking our own NSW Government budget process to ensure we have the resources we need to face this challenge.
“We can’t get ahead of the budget, but we will have more to say as we continue to explore all options to strengthen housing support.”
