Seniors housing needs must be addressed

13 Jun 2017

It is a matter of urgency that seniors on Territory Housing waiting lists are housed in appropriate, affordable and accessible housing

COTA NT will be attending a Housing Conference in Canberra next week where the issue of seniors housing will be right at the fore.  With Territory Housing having 520 applicants identified as seniors in the greater Darwin region alone, it is now a matter of urgency that they are housed in appropriate, affordable and accessible housing.

COTA NT has aspirations to redevelop our current location at 65 Smith Street and provide low cost seniors housing along with creating a vibrant seniors hub that will assist in making the Darwin CBD a safe, social and liveable city.  With the proposed NT government $100 million to be spent on the re-vitalisation of Darwin City you would think that this fits in nicely.  However, with regulation concerning car parking, long land tenure and many more obstacles, it will take a long time before COTA NT can realise these aspirations.  So for the foreseeable future, seniors will still have to wait an inordinately long time for an affordable home.  This puts undue stress on our seniors and does not provide for a secure long term future.  As mentioned previously, retention of our population is an important factor for the long term future of the Territory and can we afford to lose any more Territorians?  I would hazard a guess that the answer is a resounding NO – so we need to look at solutions as a matter of urgency.

On another topic – senior’s week in August is fast approaching and we will be going to print with the 2017 Seniors Calendar shortly, so I hope that all of the organisations with activities during Seniors Month have listed them on our live web site calendar.  Don’t forget that if you haven’t – you can still list your event in your region and it can still be seen, but it won’t be listed on the printed calendar.

Also a reminder that the calendar will not be posted, but it will be available to download online.  You can download the whole calendar, or just your particular region i.e. Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Batchelor.  It will also be available from various other outlets such as your local member, local councils and libraries.

Tags: Seniors Voice