A Bendigo single mother and her five children are likely to become homeless in the next week after being unable to find housing, and she is hoping someone will step forward with a solution that will keep the family from living out of her car.
At Christmas, Crystal (who asked that her last name not be used) was told she would have to leave her rental property in Kennington due to it being sold.
The landlords had scheduled tradesmen so she had an extra 60 days to find a rental, but she has had no luck.
"I just can't believe that this is the way it is and that everyone has just accepted it. Nobody is up in arms about it," she said.
"Everyone just keeps telling me that 'that's just the way it is'. Have you ever tried to get a baby to sleep when there are not really good people walking past screaming at all hours of the night?
"I have a one, two and four-year-old, that should shock people.
Crystal and her children, aged between one and 13, have been living week-to-week in motels since the end of February.
She said she was paying half the cost of the motels by putting $450 a week towards the price of a room booked by homelessness service provider Haven; Home, Safe.
"[Real estate agents] won't even look at your application if the rent is more than 35 per cent of your income. Being on Centrelink they won't even look at your application most of the time," Crystal said.
Young families being homeless is an 'all too familiar problem'
Haven; Home, Safe deputy chief executive and director of operations Trudi Ray said Victorians needed to recognise that thousands of people were homeless.
She said governments needed to be pressured to invest in the sector.
"This is becoming all too familiar of a story that we see on a daily basis," she said.
According to Haven; Home, Safe, there were 9,000 people that needed somewhere to live in the Bendigo region, and across all its access points it worked with 20,000 people a year.
The organisation is having trouble finding accommodation for clients.
Housing Victoria reports there are 2,000 people on the waiting list for social housing in the Bendigo area alone.
Renters priced out of the market
Crystal said it was impossible to find a rental she could afford.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria data shows the median rental price in Bendigo sits at $360 a week, which is $20 a week less than the regional Victorian average for a three-bedroom home.
Crystal said at viewings for rentals she was not alone, with other young mothers and children also desperate for a rental.
"I've been lucky enough to have been paying nearly $240 a week for a three-bedroom house in Kennington for the past two and a half years," she said.
Haven; Home, Safe told Crystal there was more chance of finding secure accommodation in Melbourne, but she said a move was not "plausible" because her children were at home in Bendigo, and her son, who is on the autism spectrum, had medical appointments.
"I can't do that for so many reasons. My own anxiety has been bad with all this. I couldn't even drive to Melbourne let alone relocate there," Crystal said.
No quick fix and not enough houses
Homes Victoria chief executive Ben Rimmer said homelessness organisations were funded to provide emergency relief with temporary accommodation, such as living in a caravan.
"But clearly it's less of a good outcome than a stable home and a stable house to live in, so that's where our focus is," he said.
Victoria's Big Housing Build program will not be fully rolled out for several years, but the state government said the $5.3 billion it was spending to build 12,000 new homes would help address the housing crisis.
Greater Bendigo will receive $85 million of social and affordable housing under the project, while Macedon Ranges will receive $30 million.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were 24,825 homeless people in Victoria on Census night in 2016, and people in overcrowded houses and flats were the largest group in the population.
That number is now around 35,000, prompting the public housing build.
There are 20 houses that have been built and delivered in Bendigo through the Big Housing Build, and another 180 are under construction and will not be ready until later this year or in early 2023.
