00:00Caught in a violent relationship and a housing crisis, Kodi faced an impossible decision.
00:09It was a choice of either stay or be on the street.
00:12She searched desperately for housing in Tasmania's northwest.
00:16There was really nowhere to go. A single mother with four kids and a dog.
00:22Like, no one was willing to look at me.
00:24At least here they had a roof over their head even if it wasn't the best.
00:28Kodi says her abuser was eventually forced out of their home by police and moved to the mainland.
00:34She counts herself fortunate to still be in her rental, knowing that's not an option for many.
00:41A recent report by Impact Economics and Policy found the rate of homelessness among Tasmanian women
00:47surged between 2016 and 2021, especially in the state's north.
00:53And women needing three or four bedroom homes are waiting an average of 19 weeks longer
00:59than people who only need one bedroom.
01:02Workers at the Coalface are seeing the impact.
01:06This shelter is only supporting a fraction of the women and children who present needing accommodation.
01:12Historically, when I look back seven years ago, generally women were staying at shelter for about six weeks.
01:20But we have families living here. We have families that have been here six, nine months.
01:25So what that then creates is a bottleneck.
01:28With nowhere to go, more than 900 Tasmanian women are returning to a violent partner
01:34or becoming homeless each year.
01:37Women and children need multiple bedroom homes.
01:41The current approach, federally and state, is often to build smaller homes.
01:46And we're not actually seeing that gain of new two, three, four bedroom homes.
01:52Impact Economics and Policy estimates Tasmania needs more than 4,000 new homes for women and children,
01:59including 900 for those fleeing violence.
02:03The Tasmanian government aims to deliver 10,000 social and affordable homes by 2032.
02:10Housing Minister Felix Ellis says victim survivors are often given priority access,
02:15but did not respond when asked how many new homes would have multiple bedrooms.
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