More Homes Alone Will Not Solve Housing Crisis, Anglicare Report Finds

Sydney — Australia’s expansion of social and affordable housing must be matched with secure tenures, practical support and stronger community connections, new research by Anglicare Sydney has found.

The report, "More Than a Key in the Door", draws on 421 resident surveys, 22 interviews and seven years of assessment data covering 803 social and affordable homes across New South Wales (NSW).

The report found that residents experienced significantly better outcomes when housing was combined with stability, support and a sense of belonging.

Loneliness fell from 38% to 21%, while 95% of residents reported feeling a sense of belonging.

More than 90% said they were confident they could keep their homes long term.

The number of residents who knew where to seek help also rose sharply, from 52% to 92%

Personal wellbeing results were also significantly higher than sector benchmarks among residents aged over 65, with wellbeing scoring 76.1 compared with a benchmark of 66.8.

Community connectedness scored 77.0, against a benchmark of 65.0.

Anglicare Sydney Housing Lead, Dr. Rob Stokes, said the Federal Government deserved credit for supporting a major expansion of housing supply but warned that housing policy should not focus on buildings alone.

“If we focus only on supply and ignore community, connection and support, we risk moving the crisis rather than solving it,” Dr. Stokes said.

He said the findings showed that some of the biggest improvements in residents’ wellbeing came from factors that could not be provided by a building alone.

“Simply getting a key to a home isn’t enough,” Dr. Stokes said.

Anglicare Sydney is calling on governments to bundle support funding with capital funding for new social and affordable housing developments, preserve affordability requirements over the long term and measure tenancy sustainment and resident wellbeing alongside housing supply.

“Get these three things right and we protect the long-lasting benefits social and affordable housing can deliver,” Dr. Stokes said.

“Every social and affordable housing tenant deserves to have housing combined with stability, relationships and support," he said.

For Jo Nicholson, a resident at Anglicare’s St Luke’s Village in Dapto, the distinction between having accommodation and having a home is personal.

Before moving into Anglicare Housing, Nicholson was at risk of homelessness and struggled to afford rent.

“Rent was out of my reach and I had no idea where I was going to live. I was lucky enough that Anglicare has helped me find a place that has turned out to be so much more than just a key in a door,” Nicholson said.

She is now actively involved in village life, contributing items to community events and fetes.

“I've spent a lot of my life on the receiving end of help. Here I get to be the one who turns up with something for the stall, and that's changed how I feel about myself,” she said.

The report found that 84% of Anglicare Housing residents are older women, with 63% aged 65 or over.

The report said almost one-third had experienced homelessness in the past.

Anglicare Sydney said the findings highlighted the need for governments to view social and affordable housing as more than simply increasing the number of homes available.