After two world wars, a Depression and umpteen recessions, in one of the richest country in the world, thousands of Australians are living in their vehicles.
I wrote a gratis resume for a woman living in her car four months ago. She had a laptop and mobile phone. She found a job at Woolies.
Homelessness services say more than 5,000 homeless Australians were living in their cars last year. One woman living in her mini-van gave the ABC an insight into her life.
Mandy, 51, has been living in her 2008 Kia Carnival mini-van since February. She became homeless after failing to make payments on her rented house in Geelong.
The back seats are now in a storage locker with what’s left of her household possessions. In their place is a foam mattress, a doona and some pillows. There’s enough space for her and her dog Diesel, a Staffy Labrador cross.
Mandy spends most days in Geelong, but also travels to Melbourne, and nearby Bacchus Marsh. Parking safely at night is a work in progress.
“At first, I thought it’d be safer to park in streets, you know, where people are around. But it’s not really safer because they don’t want you in the area.”
Mandy worked as a crossing guard for most of 2022 but had to stop when a heart condition made it impossible for her to stand on her feet for long periods. She relies on the Disability Support Pension that pays her about $1,060 per fortnight.
By the time all the deductions come out of her account, Mandy has about $550 to last two weeks.
Out of that comes $70 for her mobile plan, and $75 for her Geelong Cats membership – an indulgence she says brings her life great joy that she’s unwilling to give up.
Within hours of her Centrelink payment going into her account, Mandy is already on fumes.
“I’ve only got $156 now… and that’s going to last me another 13 days,” she tells the ABC.
By the evening, after she’d bought petrol and some basic supplies, just over $100 remained.
Mandy is far from alone. Homelessness services say the number of people living in cars has been soaring as rents and the cost of living keep rising.