What if escaping violence means losing your home?
Family violence is the primary driver of homelessness for women and children.
Nearly 40% of women, children and young people seeking support from specialist homelessness services in Victoria cited family violence as the main reason they became homeless.
This journey, illustrative of many journeys of homelessness due to family violence, reflects common barriers: scarce affordable housing, long wait times and fragmented systems.
Coordinated responses through Launch Housing and partner agencies can enable stability, yet the process highlights urgent gaps in housing supply and timely, wraparound services.
No longer at serious risk and in need of immediate protection from the person using violence, the client is directed to Entry Points by Family Violence Specialist Services once that service deems that family violence accommodation is no longer required. With few safe housing options, she is placed in short-term motel accommodation. The immediate priority is safety, but the lack of affordable, ongoing housing leaves her in crisis.
The client is offered a place at Launch Housing’s women only crisis accommodation. Here, she finds a safer, trauma-informed environment with wraparound supports for the next 12 weeks. Her case manager provides her with holistic support and together they begin to rebuild her independence.
Due to a lack of affordable private rentals for people receiving Centrelink, her long-term housing search focuses on social housing options. With her case manager, she works to take control of her finances, seeks out employment pathways and rebuilds her social connections, addressing not just housing, but also the broader impacts of trauma.
After 18 months in a community rooming house, she receives an offer for a self-contained property. Launch Housing supports her through the transition — viewing the property, organising removalists, connecting utilities and linking into the GreenLight Supportive Housing Program. With safe, secure housing and ongoing community connections, she can finally recover and rebuild.
