Fleurieu Peninsula Community Project Addresses Housing Crisis

Only an hour from Adelaide, the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula is a tourist hotspot with premium land developments targeting well-heeled retirees looking to enjoy a beach-side lifestyle.

However, among the multi-million-dollar holiday homes and lifestyle villages, many locals struggle to secure affordable housing in a market with some of the highest regional median rents and lowest vacancy rates in the state.

For people like 19-year-old Bronwyn – who has been couch surfing since her high school days – it seemed impossible that she would ever get a home of her own in her local community.

But last October, she and another local woman, received keys to their own rental home, thanks to a project entirely funded and run by the local community, which rents houses and then sublets them with oversight to help people in need.

Having a stable place to live has been life-changing for Bronwyn and her housemate.

"We've both been able to get better jobs, have stable relationships and friendships. We don't have to worry about where we're going to be next," Bronwyn said.

While she was grateful for the people who had allowed her to couch surf in their homes, she said it was stressful not knowing where she would be long term.

Now she's been able to display her own art on the walls, buy her own furniture and cook and bake with her roommate and budget for her future plans.

Her advice to other young people is to know that there are people who want to help.

"Reach out for help and don't feel like you're a burden," she said.

A driven community

The project that is currently housing Bronwyn is funded by the South Coast community, which includes the towns of Victor Harbor, Goolwa, Port Elliot and Middleton, and is set to expand with additional funding commitments.

Fleurieu Community Foundation chair Brad Butler was instrumental in pulling together all the interested groups and setting up the framework for the program to operate within.

However, he is extremely modest about his involvement, and said the program started thanks to Faye Anderson, a member of the local branch of Zonta, who came to him after attending a forum on local homelessness.

"Essentially she said, 'Brad this is not good enough in our community and I have an idea: We don't have enough money within our community to buy a house to make a difference, and that would only make a difference to one person or one family.

From little things

Mr Butler and Mrs Anderson took the idea further and approached community housing provider, Junction Australia to see if they would be happy to be the head lessee on rented properties.

The local Elders estate agent then came on board, offering to work for free and found property owners who were willing to rent their houses through the program, some at reduced rates of rent, and the first tenants moved in to the first home leased under the program in August 2024.

Four properties are now being used to house 14 participants and an additional $160,000 in donated funds has been committed by the foundation, Rotary, Bendigo Community Bank and Zonta to fund an additional three homes and a dedicated case worker.

So far the program has assisted 32 people to find housing.

In a final act of compassion, Mrs Anderson, who passed away last year, left a bequest to the program she created in her will.

Safe housing 'life-changing'

Junction regional manager Tammy Elvin said as well as providing young tenants like Bronwyn with a secure home the program also gives them the opportunity to gain a rental reference for the future.

Ms Elvin said the program was helping to fill part of the local need for crisis accommodation, particularly for young people and women aged over 55.

Spreading a simple solution

Mr Butler recently attended the National Community Foundation Forum and said there was interest in establishing similar programs in areas like Brisbane, in NSW's Northern Rivers and South Australia's Limestone Coast.

He said while the foundation was "only a small part" of the program, it provided an important piece in making it work, and that the strength of the program lay in its simple structure, which was easy to scale up and down.

"It's not a complicated model," he said.