By ANNA USHER

In a suburb where the median house price sits above $6 million, a five-year housing project provided 57 vulnerable older women with 25,539 safe nights, at $46.75 per bed.

NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson this week launched findings from that project – Mosman House, which turned a former private hospital on Effingham St into 18 transitional units for women aged 50 and over between 2020 and 2025.

Mosman House was not a crisis shelter. It gave 18 women at a time a room of their own – set in a tranquil garden, close to the harbour and local village.

On-site health and social support was also provided, allowing women to breathe, stabilise, and work towards finding a permanent address.

Each bed night cost $46.75, compared with $130 at a crisis shelter and $165 at the sector average.

84% of residents went on to secure safe, permanent housing.

The women who came through ranged in age from 50 to 81, with an average age of 59. The most common reasons: affordability pressure (42%), domestic and family violence (23%) and financial hardship (20%).

For Julie – who asked to be identified by her first name only – Mosman House was exactly that lifeline.

“It just gave a safe, stable place to be and process what I’d been through, what I was going through, and not have to worry about finding housing,” she said.

Minister Jackson said the project is proof that the model works.

“We have far too many people experiencing housing stress,” she said, “Meanwhile Use* housing is one of the best, most practical innovations that has developed in recent years.”

Link Wentworth CEO Andrew McAnulty said the report sends a clear message to governments and landowners sitting on empty buildings.

“Vacant properties should be seen as an opportunity – a way to deliver immediate relief for those at risk of homelessness while longer-term solutions are developed. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home.”

The Effingham Street site, owned by Twilight Aged Care, has development approval for a $30.7 million seniors housing complex – 22 independent living units within a heritage building – after the Sydney North Planning Panel granted consent in April last year.

• Meanwhile Use housing: the temporary repurposing of vacant or underutilised buildings to provide immediate housing, bridging the gap between emergency shelter and permanent accommodation.

See the historical images of “Mosman House”: