After surviving challenging living conditions in a tent and caravan with their children, kindness led these single mums to a new home — and life.
For Lucy Goldswain, the challenge of finding affordable housing led to a shift in perceptions and expectations, and thinking outside the box.
She proudly lives in a converted school bus on a far north Queensland property with her two children.
“Many people think they have to have the house, the car, the boat, the pool, the ice-making fridge and that kids all need to have their own bedrooms,” she said.
“I don’t know who is making up these rules.”
Ms Goldswain said when it became impossible to find a rental within her budget last year, she lived in a tent with her children.
What was initially a “temporary” move, lasted for more than a year.
An “adventure” at times, she said the challenges often took a toll on the young family — the driving monsoon rains and searing tropical heat; carting pots and food back and forth from their campsite to the camp kitchen each meal; and trying to stay positive amid the challenges.
Then Cyclone Jasper hit in December 2023, rendering the tent — their only roof over their head — unliveable.
It was amid that turmoil when Ms Goldswain stumbled upon a reasonably priced, converted school bus.
With its sealed roof offering protection from the sun and rain, power to plug in a fridge and kettle, and a bed off the floor, she was sold.
The power of kindness
Kuranda landowner Elizabeth Horsburgh allowed Ms Goldswain to rent a space on her property where the bus has remained since.
The longtime local has traditionally provided accommodation for men in need but said that was changing.
“I’ve always called this place ‘Elizabeth’s home for homeless men’ but someone flipped a switch last year,” Ms Horsburgh said.
“Now more women are coming here looking to stay and it’s an entirely different experience.”
Ms Goldswain said the bus, while not a conventional home, was perfect for their needs.
She said the kindness of other women in the community had provided hope and stability for her family.
“I think the most important thing for us all is connection and kindness.”
An armchair for a bed
In Jade Olsen’s scarcely furnished flat, an armchair sits in her bedroom where a bed would ordinarily be.
But she doesn’t mind.
“I’m just so grateful to have our own space again with room for the girls to play,” Ms Olsen, 35, said.
The mum of two-year-old twin daughters secured the two-bedroom flat in far north Queensland after a desperate plea on social media when her more than 50 rental applications were unsuccessful.
Ms Olsen said real estate agents, who declined the applications, explained she could not afford the $350 weekly rent according to their affordability calculations.
(Supplied: Jade Olsen)
At the time, she said the trio had been living for months in a cramped caravan paying $350 a week for “power and a patch of grass”.
The young family unexpectedly ended up in the caravan after the lease on their former rental was not renewed due to upcoming renovations.
Feeling judged, humiliated and “losing hope”, Ms Olsen vented on social media explaining she had excellent references, almost no bills and was fed up with being treated “like a second-class citizen” by real estate agents.
“I just put myself out there asking for advice and one lady actually reached out to me and offered me a property to rent,” she said.
“She is an absolute angel — she saved us.”
Tight rental market
Charity Anglicare helped furnish the family’s unit with necessities — a couch, dining table, television cabinet and the girls’ beds and mattresses — while Ms Olsen is saving to buy her own bed.
Anglicare North Queensland said the tight rental market was challenging for low-income earners, fuelled by a lack of supply.
“There’s really zero properties that are suitable or appropriate for low-income earners,” said Evan Martin, the organisation’s local manager of housing and homelessness.
The federal government announced a 10 per cent increase in rent assistance in the 2024 budget.
But Mr Martin said many low-income renters — including those on the Disability Support Pension, Youth Allowance, Job Seeker and parenting payments or earning the minimum wage — did not earn enough to cover weekly rent.
Real estate agents use an affordability test when assessing a prospective tenant’s application whereby the rent cannot exceed 30 per cent of their income.
“If low-income earners are lucky enough to get a rental they are already going in outside their budget,” Mr Martin said.
Home provides hope
Ms Olsen said the extent of the housing crisis caught her off-guard.
“I didn’t realise how disheartening it would be [trying] to find somewhere to live.
“Every time I turned up to a house viewing there would be 30 to 50 other people trying to apply.
“I had lost everything when we moved out of our rental, including my business and all the girls’ toys,” Ms Olsen said.
“Now I feel more hopeful and I’m going to start up my business again now I have a base.”