A mother of three has shared her family’s heartbreaking story after they lost their home in Western Australia nearly 10 months ago.
Zakiesha, her partner and three children, all under 10, have been homeless in South Hedland since their lease was terminated due to COVID-19.
“We had a private rental for six years and when COVID hit, we lost our place and got terminated in July,” Zakiesha told 6PR on Tuesday.
“We had 60 days to move out and we’ve been homeless since. We’ve been trying to get another private rental, which has been unsuccessful.”
The family has been forced to sleep away from the town and in the bush for their own safety.
“Because it’s unsafe to sleep on the streets inside of the town, we sleep on the outskirts of Port and South Hedland to be safe,” Zakiesha said.
“In the bush, in the scrub, near the river.
“Tents and swags, just a three-man tent between the whole five of us.”
But danger is still present, with Zakiesha saying they are always worried about people stealing parts from their car, which regularly occurs in the area.
They are in emergency accommodation until Friday after two of the children caught COVID.
The whole family now has the virus and while a positive test would extend their stay by another week, Zakiesha pointed out it would only be for a “short amount of time”.
“Just (in emergency accommodation) for quarantine and then we’re back on the street, and possibly sharing the virus, since we’ve all caught it,” she said.
“We’ve contracted COVID through our son … and we have to comfort him and give him cuddles, so we ended up catching it as well.”
Zakiesha has unsuccessfully tried 15 times to get another private rental, while she has been “messed around” by authorities.
The only option she has been given is to relocate from South Hedland to a refuge or hostel.
She admitted the experience has been “extremely hard” and has taken a “toll” on their health.
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“We’re so angry. Sometimes we (Zakiesha and her partner) take it out on each other and we don’t want to,” she said.
“We’re just angry with the world and government.
“How hard is it to give us a home? How cruel can they be to my children; they need to look into my kids’ eyes and tell them they can’t have a home.”
But Zakiesha’s struggle is not an isolated incident, with 740 families on the housing waitlist in the wealthy Pilbara region.
WA Council of Social Services chief executive Louise Giolitto said it is “a story we’re hearing all too often” with contixjmtzywnual issues of high rental prices and housing shortages in the area.
“We’re so far behind in this state with the needs around social and affordable housing for families like Zakiesha’s,” she told 6PR.
“This is a repeated story, we know these are mining towns … but the housing shortage is really extreme in the Pilbara area.
“She (Zakiesha) and her family are simply cut out of the market; because the rent is so high they can’t compete with anyone else.”
