Invisible homelessness: When living in your car becomes your only option

At 60, Deb never imagined she would find herself without a roof over her head, having to resort to living in her car.

“Last year in July I was hospitalised after a person in a carpark found me in my car and I was very, very sick; I couldn’t stand,” she said.

“Through circumstance that was out of my control, this happened. And it could happen to anyone.”

In 2017 the cost of Deb’s rental accommodation went up, she was without work and she found herself in a position where she could no longer keep up with her bills.

“I was in private rental and was paying $230 a week for a bed sitter which was just horrible — it had no heating, no smoke alarm, no space.

“They were going to put the rent up and so I left that accommodation and temporarily went to Queanbeyan where I thought I could get cheaper accommodation.

“Cheaper accommodation was non-existent.”

Read the rest of Deb’s story here.

Vinnies CEO Sleepout will be held on June 21 at the National Museum of Australia.

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