How a vacant Sydney mansion became transitional housing for women in need

Julie found solace at Mosman House after experiencing hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. (ABC News: Warwick Ford) Link copiedShareShare articleFive years ago, Julie's life was in what she describes as "disarray". Her son had recently died, a serious injury had left her unable to work and her partner of 10 years had gone back to the UK. "We were in the middle of a pandemic and I ended up with no income and I didn't know what I was going to do," she said. A total of 57 women stayed at Mosman House during its tenure. (Supplied: Women's Community Shelters) But then, Julie, whose last name has been withheld for privacy reasons, moved into a heritage-listed 18-bedroom house in Sydney's lower north shore with views of the harbour. That centuries-old mansion, which quickly became Julie's safe haven, was Mosman House. The property was left vacant after Mosman Private Hospital shut its doors in 2019, and subsequently it became a transitional home for women over 50 escaping homelessness and domestic violence. "It just helped me so much to have that safe place to sit back and just try to work out what the hell had happened to me," Julie said. Julie credits the transitional home for its support and helping her get back on her feet. (ABC News: Warwick Ford) The owner of the land, Twilight Aged Care, had plans to redevelop the site, but it would be years before construction began due to lengthy planning processes. That is when the company teamed up with local charity Women's Community Shelters and social housing provider Link Wentworth to turn it into transitional housing while it sat empty. It opened in 2020 and a total of 57 women stayed in the house. The land has since been returned to Twilight Aged Care for development as originally planned. It was an example of 'meanwhile use', where vacant properties waiting to be sold or redeveloped are used to provide short-term housing. Ms Mannion says the site was vacant for a few years, and therefore was viable as meanwhile use housing during that period. (Supplied: Twilight Aged Care) Women's Community Shelters CEO Annabelle Daniel recently pitched the model to a room of developers and industry stakeholders in Sydney. The charity first tested the idea at a vacant site called Beecroft House in the city's north-west, which continues to house women over 55. "That enabled us to prove the model, bring it to life, and then replicate it and scale it," Ms Daniel said. It now runs four other meanwhile-use properties around Sydney, supplying residents with medical services, counselling and advocacy to find permanent housing. It comes as demand for social housing for women over 55 remains on the rise. Instructions: Use left and right arrow keys to control image transition SLIDE Beecroft House continues to house women over 55. / Supplied: Women's Community SheltersAs of June last year, there were more than 10,000 older women waiting on the NSW Housing Register. That was up from around 8,500 the year before, and 7,700 a decade ago. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a similar increase in need for support services could be seen across the country. Between 2011 and 2025, the number of older women accessing homelessness services in Australia rose by around 8 per cent year-on-year. NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson said meanwhile use was a way to supplement social housing while more permanent solutions were being built. "Often with meanwhile use, you require a different use of the building … previously the planning system just lost its mind over that different use, we've cleared that pathway now." The difficult part is convincing the owners of vacant properties to offer up their empty site. Ms Jackson says meanwhile use housing is a suitable option while permanent solutions are being built. (ABC News: Warwick Ford) Link Wentworth chief executive Andrew McAnulty acknowledged some development stakeholders felt hesitant due to something called vacancy risk. It is the risk that once final approvals have been granted for a property, construction may be slowed down if it takes a long time to find other housing for residents. It is why the model includes the involvement of a social housing provider who works to find ongoing housing for residents when meanwhile use availability ends. More than 80 per cent of the women who passed through Mosman House went directly on to permanent housing. Women's Community Shelters only recommended meanwhile use in properties that would be empty for over 12 months to ensure the women were provided with stable accommodation. "We don't want to create this idyllic scenario … and then have people enter into homelessness," Ms Daniel said. Ms Daniel has been pitching this model to developers and industry stakeholders. (ABC News: Warwick Ford) Mosman House onsite manager Robyn Mathot-Gwozdecky was there when the women moved out of what had become their home. "I had the relationship with all the women there to be able to

How a vacant Sydney mansion became transitional housing for women in need

Key takeaways

More in international