'I had nowhere to live': Why Mabel moved back to her home country after 30 years

Faced with homelessness and struggling with the cost of living, Mabel Stephens, 63, made the difficult decision to move back to Chile after more than 30 years Down Under.

Mabel Stephens says Australia's 'cost of living crisis' forced her to move back to Chile. Credit: Supplied

Highlights:

• Mabel Stephens immigrated to Australia as a 20-year-old in 1978.
• Despite working all of her life and owning several properties, she was facing homelessness.
• She decided to move back to Chile where she says the cost of living is far more manageable.

Mabel Stephens says she always thought the predicament of having nowhere to live was something that happened to other people.

After all, in the more than three decades she had been living in Australia, she'd owned three properties and had several jobs that provided her with a good quality of life.

But one day, at 63, she says she found herself staring down the prospect of having to live in her car if she wanted to stay Down Under and be close to her children and grandchildren.

Faced with this, she says she made the difficult decision to return to Chile where she could afford to rent a small house and receive a pension.

Homelessness among 'older women' fastest-growing cohort

According to a report by the Australian Human Rights Commission, older women like Ms Stephens - those aged 55 and over - were the fastest-growing cohort of homeless Australians between 2011 and 2016, increasing by 31 per cent.

Women aged 55 and over are the fastest-growing cohort of homeless people in Australia, according to the Australian Human Rights Commission. Credit: Ariel Skelley/Getty Images

"It is likely this trend will continue given the ongoing shortage of affordable housing, the ageing population and the significant gap in wealth accumulation between men and women across their lifetimes," the report states.

According to the 2021 Census, there were 19,378 people aged 55 and over who were homeless as of that night, up from 18,625 in the 2016 Census.

According to Fiona York, Executive Officer with Housing for the Aged Action Group, older women were facing homelessness, "due to a lifetime of systemic disadvantage - such as lower wages, time taken out of work for caring responsibilities, and lack of superannuation."

"This means that many women are living in unaffordable private rentals, staying with friends and family, or house-sitting in order to keep a roof over their heads," she said.

"Many older women are experiencing this for the first time in later life."

Ms York said older people needed a range of affordable housing options, so that they could “age well”.

"This includes public and community housing, and low-cost retirement housing, in places that are close to their friends and family, doctors and transport," Ms York said.

Mabel's new life in Chile

Now settled in her new life in Valdivia, a small town in the south of Chile, Ms Stephens told SBS Spanish about those "dark days" when her situation was so distressing that more than once she ended up in hospital.

The Chilean mother and grandmother says that until mid-2021, she shared a rented house with her three adult children. But that same year, the family decided it was time for everyone to go their own ways and live independently.

Ms Stephens' three sons. Credit: Supplied

Looking for a home in the middle of a housing crisis

Ms Stephens says she and her youngest son, Simon, who at the time was a student and working part-time, decided to live together, but they faced a roadblock when they searched for a property to rent.

The housing market had changed dramatically and rents were beyond their budgets, according to Ms Stephens.

I always thought not finding a place to live happens to other people who don't know how to (manage their money), but it happened to us... It's (worse for me) because I'm older and that's complicated, especially when you can't get a job at (my) age.

Mabel Stephens

She says they attended dozens of inspections and, that at each appointment, there were between 30 and 40 people with whom they competed for rental housing that cost between $400 and $500 a week, prices that were also beyond their reach.

After numerous appointments and inquiries, she says they managed to find an apartment to rent that was part of the Queensland National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS).

Ms Stephens (R) and her youngest son, Simon. Credit: Supplied

But the sense of relief was short-lived as a few months later, Ms Stephens and her son were evicted because of the discontinuation of the housing support program.

“I got sick and my son got sick. It was very distressing. I was hospitalised twice as an emergency because of the stress on me and my son as well, because he felt responsible for my wellbeing,” she recalls.

A previously secure life in Australia

Ms Stephens immigrated to Australia at a young age and was a home owner five years later.

Unfortunately, she lost her property to her ex-husband who mortgaged the house to start a business that ultimately failed, she says.

At one time, Ms Stephen says she owned two properties on the Gold Coast. Source: AAP

Years later, she managed to buy two houses on the Gold Coast but had to sell them when she lost her job.

Many will say that I had time to buy a house, that I should not have reached this age without owning a property... (But) It happens to a lot of people. People who have a good income, a good pension, but (then) something (unexpected happens).

Mabel Stephens

Ms Stephens has experience in accounting and management, areas which ensured she always had work since arriving in Australia in 1978.

She worked mostly in the mining sector but also in doctor's offices, in businesses, aged care and theme parks.

Ms Stephens says she had a comfortable and secure life when her sons were growing up. Credit: Supplied

In fact, when her children were young, she had taken them to live with her in Chile for 10 years, where she was working for an Australian company.

No house, no job and no money

Ms Stephens says her fortunes took a turn for the worse once she hit 60.

Her search for work became an impossible goal to achieve, even when she tried to find employment in sectors outside her expertise, she says.

I had no problem working in any area for a decent income... I was happy to go and clean (houses), which I did a few times, but old age (caught up with) me.

Mabel Stephens

“I even applied to go and (pick) fruit - which paid well and offered accommodation - but again, because of my age, it was impossible,” she says.

Ms Stephens with Simon before she left for Chile. Credit: Supplied

Ms Stephens explains that even in a rural area, she would have had to share a house with strangers, probably younger than herself, and live far from her family and social circle.

“When you reach an older age, you want your home, your nest, and you can't (live with strangers), it's impossible,” says Ms Stephens.

'Chile was my salvation'

She says that at one point, when she felt all options had been exhausted, the thought of living in her car crossed her mind.

Living with friends was only a temporary answer so she says she finally decided that moving back to Chile was the only sustainable path remaining open to her.

“I thought, my salvation is Chile... after all, I have a family there, some friends, and the cost of living is less expensive, and I also have a small pension fund that would perform better in Chile than in Australia,” she explains.

Ms Stephens lives in a village in Valdivia in Chile's south.

She says she had been able to rent a simple house in the small, quaint town of Valdivia in Chile's south, and the cost of living was much cheaper than Australia.

You learn to settle for less. As long as you have a clean and decent roof (over your head), everything is fine.

Mabel Stephens

Missing her family, friends

She says the emotional price of moving back to Chile was "insurmountable".

The pain of leaving her closest and dearest friends behind, and being so far away from her three children and grandchildren never ceases, she says.

Ms Stephens says she has not lost hope of returning to Australia to be close to her whole family. Credit: Supplied

“It was a very tough decision to leave my children and grandchildren. I'm losing ties," she says.

Ms Stephens says she never thought she would be in such a situation.

One expects to arrive (to old age) with dignity. I believe that dignity is the main thing, and when it is lost, everything is lost.

Mabel Stephens

Ms Stephens is rebuilding her life in Chile with childhood friends, her sisters and mother, and a new romantic partner.

However, she says she remains hopeful of returning to Australia to be closer to her sons and grandchildren.

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