Zonta Club of Pine Rivers Inc addresses older unhoused women in its community

The Zonta Club of Pine Rivers Inc, Australia, teamed up with 15 other Zonta clubs in southeast Queensland to help older unhoused women.

In 2020, just as the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdowns began, the clubs committed to work with the Lady Musgrave Trust, a local homeless charity, to hand out its handy guide for older women. The guide is a booklet containing relevant local information and advice for women over 55 who are unhoused or potentially facing homelessness. This project tapped into members' growing awareness of the alarming increase in homelessness, particularly impacting older women in their communities.

The project involved:

• Gathering data on potential community users and distribution points for the guides.
• Introducing them into the community.
• Subsequently, storing and delivering the booklets as orders were received.

Since the project's inception, the clubs have delivered 5,960 guides across an area of 35,248 km2 with a population of just under 4 million people.

In their final report, the clubs' collaboration with the Lady Musgrave Trust to deliver the guides has been a successful project, valued by the recipients and rewarding for those participating. Ending homelessness for older women is within District 22's advocacy goals and, similarly, the goals of many of the local clubs.