Outreach workers supporting older people on the verge of homelessness can't hand them the keys to a safe and secure home, but they can sit and listen to their stories.
Theresa Jasper-Dennis is expecting to see the rental crisis worsen in regional Victoria and across Australia after this week's ninth consecutive interest rate rise.
"There is obviously going to be more vulnerable people that are going to have the potential to become homeless," she said.
"Mortgages are going to go up, rents are going to go up.
"People are going to feel extremely stressed, and in stressful situations people don't function very well at all."
Ms Jasper-Dennis leads the Housing for the Aged Action Group's (HAAG) work across the Goulburn Valley.
She has also been homeless herself.
"It is so difficult to get people to listen to you, to listen to what your needs are," she said.
"It's an absolute minefield out there to try and work out who's doing what, who can actually help you and who's coming in and talking to you and ticking a box."
HAAG aims to assist a growing number of older people in housing stress to find the help they need before they lose the roof over their heads.
The first conversation is usually over a cup of tea.
"I know the amount of stress people are going through, so I can see it — you can see it physically in their body when they talk," Ms Jasper-Dennis said.
"Even their breathing, when they're talking to you in the beginning, their breathing is very taxed.
"Then if they do get a housing offer, you can see the absolute delight."
Long-term solutions proposed
Australian Housing and Urban Research (AHURI) Institute managing director Michael Fotheringham said the rental crisis had "sharply increased" in recent years.
"I think some of the knock on effects from the pandemic have created a series of reverberations through our housing markets," he said.
"But the wider economic conditions around inflation and price rises are driving us into a bit of an unknown space."
A $10-billion legislation package entering federal parliament today gives the AHURI expert cause for hope.
Dr Fotheringham said the proposed bills were the first significant Commonwealth investment in social and affordable housing since the global financial crisis.
"Frankly, the Commonwealth government is stepping back up to the plate, having been largely absent from this for quite some time," he said.
The legislation promises $100 million for crisis accommodation for women and children impacted by family and domestic violence and older women at risk of homelessness.
It also includes $30m to build housing and fund specialist services for veterans who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness, as well as $200m to maintain housing in remote Indigenous communities.
The legislation signals the beginning of a national housing and homelessness plan.
"I don't think we're quite sighing with relief yet … there's a lot of work to do," Dr Fotheringham said.
"The cause of optimism is that collaborative approach that the Commonwealth are really pursuing."
'You can't recuperate in a car'
Older Australian renters have some of the highest relative poverty rates in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to the Australian Research Council.
Some HAAG clients are couch surfing and others are at risk of losing their private rental due to sudden changes in circumstances, such as the death of a partner or a steep rent hike.
"The sad fact is a lot of older people will go without food and medication simply to keep a roof over their head," Ms Jasper-Dennis said.
Working with clients, Joan Broughan and Anne Maher have both seen how housing insecurity impacts older people's health.
Ms Broughan recalled an older woman who was sleeping in her car while she was on the waitlist for a knee reconstruction.
"The specialist said while you live in a car I can't do it — you can't recuperate in a car," she said.
"So she just got worse and worse."
One of Ms Maher's clients received a notice to vacate shortly before falling ill.
"He had a medical emergency and was in hospital for surgery, then rehab," she said.
When he was ready for discharge he had no home to go to.
"He's moved into an aged care home in a respite bed and is waiting for public housing," Ms Maher said.
Some clients die waiting.
Ms Jasper-Dennis said it was still important for those in need to apply.
"If they're not in they're not counted," she said.
"Therefore the need doesn't seem as high as it actually is."
