Unprecedented housing shortages are putting extra pressure on already struggling domestic violence services, leaving some victims to fend for themselves on the streets.
A Sunshine Coast domestic violence victim has slept in a car with her two young children for almost a fortnight because she cannot access emergency housing.
Sarah* fled the home she shared with her abusive partner in early August after he threatened to kill her and her children.
She said four nights of emergency housing was the only reprieve she has had from two weeks of driving around the region looking for places to park and sleep.
"On day five when I still couldn't get any accommodation after five nights in my car, I realised that I was becoming quite manic because I was five days no sleep," Sarah said.
She had limited money left and was too scared to return home.
Sarah said the only financial support she had been able to access was two $20 supermarket vouchers to feed her small family, despite contacting multiple government agencies and charities every day for two weeks.
"What is $40 meant to do when I'm sleeping in my car and I need petrol," she said.
"I had to beg for petrol and nappies and they're like, 'You're not on Centrelink', and I said, 'Yeah, I can't get Centrelink'.
"You try and be brave and change the future for your children, but you get a bit trapped."
'The help is not there'
Sarah said on multiple occasions her family had been left with no accommodation and limited people to contact, despite being told by support workers she would have accommodation at night.
"They give you a list of people to call and you call them and when you call the lines, they just swap the buck from this person to that person," she said.
"I don't really know where it's all going wrong, but the help is not there and safety is not there."
DV Connect director of client services Sophie McCashin said the lack of affordable housing put domestic violence victims at more risk.
"That's really impacting on people's ability to access safety because we know that housing is a fundamental human right and it's a lifeline for anyone who's fleeing domestic and family violence," Ms McCashin said.
"What we're seeing is there's more complexity now in terms of access to housing.
"Everyone in every sector has been impacted by things like the pandemic and so what we're seeing is there's more competition to access housing."
Ms McCashin could not give specific data on the availability of emergency accommodation available for DV victims due to safety reasons.
Affordable housing demand outstrips supply
Queensland's minister for the prevention of domestic and family violence and Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman was contacted for comment.
The government announced $163.4 million in its 2021–22 budget to provide housing, support and specialist homeless services for vulnerable people, including older women and those experiencing domestic and family violence.
Ms McCashin said domestic violence service workers were doing their best to find accommodation for victims in need, but there was not enough housing to immediately help everyone.
"We might get up to 150 calls a day at the moment and of those 150 calls maybe about 20 families per night would be accommodated by us anywhere across Queensland," she said.
"Those are the families that are seeking safe, longer term options and it's just simply not safe for them to remain at home."
She said about 30 per cent of victims who were given immediate refuge in a motel found a place to stay in a high security women's shelter.
"There's just simply not enough in terms of high security options for women and families versus demand," she said.
"The rest of those families who aren't going to shelter are seeking longer term options and often that's the way of affordable housing, which we know is very difficult to access at the moment.
"Housing really is the crux of so many issues here and it's a bit of a cycle as well, in terms of, if people leave and they've got nowhere to go, then they return to the violent relationship."
*Name has been changed due to privacy and safety reasons
