Heather was left homeless for six years after escaping her violent ex-husband. This is her plea she wants every Aussie to hear

A domestic violence victim who was homeless for six years after escaping her abusive ex-husband has made a plea for the government to guarantee and incentivize a program that helped her secure a home.

In 2014, Maitland mother Heather Bosworth, 44, was evicted from her home after falling behind on her rent payments.

In 2012, her ex was sentenced to nine months in prison for domestic violence against her, including stalking, intimidation and breaching an AVO

But once he got out, he moved to a house on her street, adding to her stress.

The mother-of-ten said the fear intensified in the weeks before she lost her home.

Ms Bosworth said at the time she believed being homeless was the only way to “escape” her circumstances.

“I couldn’t be bothered to pay my rent, got evicted and ended up homeless,” she said.

“That was the only way I could escape, by going from town to town.”

Ms Bosworth said the signs of abuse only started after she got married in 2011.

‘He was really obsessive and controlling. He tried to take control of my money but then it was verbal and emotional abuse,” she said.

‘He took all my money. If I didn’t buy him alcohol, I got beat up.

“It got so bad I was afraid to walk outside.”

After her deportation, she spent the next six years homeless, bouncing between couch surfing with friends, sleeping on the streets and other temporary and emergency shelter facilities.

“I stayed where I felt safe, in parks, trains, train stations, even the 24-hour McDonald’s. “I stayed there all night so I felt safe,” she said.

In 2020 she heard about the Samen Thuis program. The government initiative offers people experiencing homelessness the opportunity to rent private rental properties that are rented out by the government and then sublet to community housing providers.

Importantly, participants also have access to wrap-around services such as mental health and legal support, as well as case managers.

Since its inception in July 2020 through January 2023, the program has housed 1,092 clients. About 75 percent of people in the program have kept their rent.

For Ms Bosworth, the program helped her rebuild her life, with her home described as a ‘palace’.

Since then, she has worked a retail job, kept her home and divorced her husband.

‘Financially I couldn’t get a divorce, and I didn’t have the support to have someone to get him the papers, because of the history between me and the perpetrator, and the paperwork to go to court was just a nightmare. ‘ she said.

However, the future of Together Home remains unclear and the government is yet to confirm whether it will receive additional funding to meet demand.

The $11.3 million from last year’s budget will provide support packages for some customers until 2026.

However, Homelessness NSW has called for an injection of $62 million over the next three years to ensure an additional 400 people experiencing homelessness can access the program.

“NSW cannot afford to once again cut funding for a program that addresses the housing and homelessness crisis when one in two people (accessing homelessness services) are no longer receiving help,” Dom Rowe said, CEO of Homelessness.

Victims of domestic violence represent a large proportion of people accessing homelessness services. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reports that around 38 per cent of the 104,000 people who accessed specialist homelessness services in 2022-23 experienced family and domestic violence.

‘Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness. We cannot solve homelessness without ensuring women and children have a safe place to go,” Ms Rowe said.

‘It is unacceptable that women are forced to choose between staying with an abusive partner or sleeping rough. Housing First initiatives such as Together Home are essential to ensure women and children have a safe place to go.

Ms. Bosworth knows firsthand how life-changing the program can be.

“I’ve achieved all my goals, plus more… like getting my mental health back on track, getting all my health checks up to date and getting myself back to being who I wanted to be,” she said.

‘I don’t think I could have done this without the support of the Together Home programme, both financially and mentally.

“I want the government to re-fund the program because there are many people in my situation who would not be able to get safe, long-term housing without this program.”

Domestic Violence NSW chief executive Elise Phillips said it is “critically important” to ensure victims of domestic violence have access to housing when escaping perpetrators.

However, in NSW, waiting times for social housing can be five to 10 years, with access more difficult for those in regional and remote areas.

“It’s very simple: Victim survivors escaping violence need to have a safe place to go,” she said.

“Yet the shortage of crisis shelters, transitional housing and social housing has forced women to choose between homelessness and remaining in violence.”

Ms Phillips said she had heard reports of victim survivors living in their cars or tents to stay mobile and safe from their perpetrators.

“This in itself poses a number of safety risks and limits the ability of victim-survivors to connect with support services,” she said.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are even more at risk. Figures from the AIHW show that they are almost 11 times more likely to die from abuse than other women and 32 times more likely to be hospitalized as a result of domestic abuse.

The Minns Government has announced upcoming announcements and funding for housing measures for victims of domestic violence, recognizing the need to ensure victims of domestic violence have access to safe housing.

While NSW Homelessness Minister Rose Jackson could not guarantee the continuation of the Together Home program, she acknowledged that “demand for emergency shelter and long-term housing is not keeping up with supply.”

‘We know that the Together Home program has helped many vulnerable people in these situations. The former administration left this program at a funding cliff, without continued investment,” she said.

Ms Jackson said she could not “get ahead of the budget” but pointed to other support packages supporting women and children leaving violence, such as Staying Home, Leaving Violence, which recently had a $48 million funding investment through the $230 million government emergency package to support victims of domestic violence.

“Essentially, we urgently need more long-term social housing for women and children leaving violence,” she said.

“We have established Homes NSW and are carrying out the government’s land audit to expedite this work. We are delivering the $600 million Social Housing Accelerator and negotiating hard with the Commonwealth to raise funding through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement. In addition, we are conducting our own NSW Government budget process to ensure we have the resources we need to meet this challenge.

“We can’t pre-empt the budget, but we will have more to say as we continue to explore all options to strengthen support for housing.”