What if the solution to our housing crisis was already within arm’s reach? What if learning to share space well together — making use of spare bedrooms, vacant properties, and unused land — could meaningfully ease the burden on thousands of Hunter residents struggling with housing stress and the relentless cost of living squeeze?
The numbers are stark. Between the 2016 and 2021 Censuses, homelessness in the Newcastle LGA rose by 35 per cent, Cessnock by 82 per cent, and Maitland by 39 per cent. Behind every statistic is a person — a family, an older woman, a retiree — struggling to find somewhere safe and stable to call home.
Despite Commonwealth and State commitments to increase housing supply, progress in the Lower Hunter has been painfully slow. Fewer than 100 social housing units have been built. NSW tenders for Transport Oriented Development proposals attracted no interest. The Broadmeadow project remains stalled. More than 1,200 people are currently on the waiting list for social housing in Newcastle, each facing a wait of around ten years. The scale of unmet need could hardly be more confronting.
Yet amid this difficult picture, something encouraging is happening. Community organisations across the Hunter are developing creative, practical responses that deserve far greater attention — and support.
One of the most compelling is Hunter Homeshare, an initiative of the Housing for Older Persons Project, part of the Hunter Ageing Alliance, and managed by Embrace People and Place. The program pairs older homeowners who have a spare room with single women over 55 who need safe and affordable accommodation — a demographic that has become one of the fastest-growing groups experiencing homelessness in Australia.
Many of these women find themselves in precarious situations following relationship breakdown or the loss of a spouse. They often carry lower superannuation balances and face real barriers to re-entering the workforce after years spent caring for children or ageing parents. For them, the housing market offers little mercy.
Ken, an 84-year-old Maitland resident, understands the other side of that equation. For him, living alone in a four-bedroom home had become more space than one person could fill. “It was just me and my dog, and the dog doesn’t talk back,” he said. “The house felt too big.”
Through Hunter Homeshare, Ken was matched with Nat, a 63-year-old teacher who had been moving between house-sitting arrangements and living in her van. She had steady work but couldn’t manage rent alone. “The cost of living is astronomical,” she said. “I wanted to live with other people — not just for the companionship, but to share the financial burden.”
The arrangement transformed both their lives. Ken found connection and purpose; Nat found security and a home. “This is working out far beyond my expectations,” Ken said. “We go on weekly outings together, and I feel so much more connected.” Nat is equally grateful: “It’s a win-win for both of us.”
Stories like Ken and Nat’s remind us what is truly at stake in this crisis — not just housing stress data, but people’s dignity, safety, and wellbeing.
Another promising initiative is the “Meanwhile Use” model, which converts vacant buildings — such as disused nursing homes — into temporary accommodation for older women. Pacific Link Housing and Women’s Community Shelters ‘Meanwhile Use Housing’ program is a fine example, currently providing safe and affordable housing for 30+ women across two sites, some of whom have since transitioned to permanent accommodation.
This meanwhile use thinking could be applied more broadly. Vacant Defence and Church land sitting idle across the region could be made available as temporary housing until required for their original purposes. Modular homes — compact, cost-effective, and increasingly being constructed right here by Hunter family businesses — would be ideally suited to such sites. Tiny home programs offer a similarly practical path, providing dignified, affordable dwellings at a fraction of the cost of conventional construction.
These approaches alone won’t solve the housing crisis, of course. The obstacles are real: excessive regulation, a shortage of tradespeople, and high construction costs all constrain supply. But solutions such as dual occupancy, modular housing, co-housing, and tiny homes deserve serious consideration alongside traditional approaches.
Encouragingly, a Hunter Central Coast Regional Plan is in its early stages. We hope that this will lead to a Lower Hunter and Central Coast Housing Plan. For it to have impact, it must be grounded in reality — engaging all key stakeholders, identifying need across every housing category, and setting clear objectives, timelines, and measurable outcomes.
The housing crisis will not be solved by any single lever. It demands government ambition, community innovation, and a willingness to back programs that are already working. Hunter Homeshare, Pacific Link Housing and Women’s Community Shelters ‘Meanwhile Use’ program, and the growing modular and tiny home sector show what is possible when people work together creatively. They deserve our recognition — and our resources.
Dr John Ward is a geriatrician, the co-founder of Hunter Ageing Alliance and 2024 NSW Senior Australian of the Year. Nissa Phillips is the Homeshare Coordinator at Embrace People & Place.
