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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Cait Kelly Inequality reporter

Last resort: when the only option left amid Australia’s housing crisis is a motel

Housing case study Blanche
Blanche, 49, spent seven months living in a hotel room with her youngest son, then aged nine. Before that, they were wrapped in blankets on the street. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian

Blanche is a lot of things: a mother of eight and a grandmother of 10. A viral TikToker. A survivor of family and domestic violence. A former drug user, clean for nearly two years. And she is, for the moment, housed.

To the 49-year-old, the two-bedroom community housing she has in Melbourne’s west feels palatial. She previously spent seven months living in a hotel room with her youngest son, then aged nine. Before that, they were wrapped in blankets on the street. They spent four years bouncing around.

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