Since 2019, The Lady Musgrave Trust has distributed The Handy Guide for Older Women – a practical guide for older women that provides key information about where to go for housing crisis support. The purpose of the guide is to educate, inform and empower older women who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, support their self-determination and connecting them with essential services.
In early 2023 The Lady Musgrave Trust reached out to Footprints Community and commenced conversations about the next phase of this resource, and we are thrilled to announce that Footprints Community will be responsible for the ongoing ownership of this critical resource for older women experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
The Guide is an important tool, developed in consultation with organisations including the Office of Aging, Office for Women, and many community assistance organisations, and is only possible thanks to the financial support of The Cromwell Property Group, Eastern Star Foundation, Zonta including Zonta City of Brisbane Chapter, the Zonta Club of Brisbane North Inc. and Zonta Clubs of SE Queensland.
Footprints Community will continue to work with organisations across the State for future editions of The Handy Guide for Older Women and tackle the biggest housing issues that older women face, including:
- housing affordability and the availability of public housing
- women’s perception of homelessness while in temporary accommodationthe increasing number of women aged 50+ who have lost secure employment, impacting their long-term rental status
- improving community understanding of senior rentals and retirement villages.
Since 2019, The Lady Musgrave Trust’s Handy Guide for Older Women’s has had 20,133 page views and just under 15,000 copies have been distributed throughout the State – thanks to the generosity of the Zonta City of Brisbane Chapter, Zonta Club of Brisbane North Inc. and Zonta Clubs of SE Queensland.
The Older Women’s Handy Guide will be available for download from Footprints Community’s Housing Older Women’s website and is available for print orders by visiting: https://howss.org.au/the-handy-guide-for-older-women/
Footprints Community will continue The Lady Musgrave Trust’s legacy of engagement and collaboration to update the directory.