We are in a housing crisis. But does that adequately describe where we are right now? The last census told us there are lots of houses. A million empty ones in fact. So if we’re building enough houses, is it in fact less a housing crisis, and more a homing crisis? It’s clear, when we started using houses as wealth building, instead of community building, it transformed homes into houses. We became commodities not communities. Maybe instead of talking about housing, we need to start talking about what it means to have a home. What it means to have neighbourhoods full of people you know.
So, what is a home?
I was thinking of that on the weekend, as I drove up my driveway and parked out front. I sat for a moment and looked at my house and felt this sense of gratitude and relief. Of course we don’t use the garage to park. No one does anymore, every bit of interior space is used. That’s my husband’s office. Maybe one day if one of the kids moves home with a baby we could convert it into a studio. Or maybe my parents could live there.
I have only ever owned one house. This one. I have no intention of selling up and moving on. This isn’t an investment. This is our home. I am not going anywhere. As someone who rented until my early 40s, being able to stay in place has been life changing. That’s what having housing security – a home of your own – means. It means being able to send your roots deep into the earth.
It changes you. You might wake with the once weekly anxiety of ‘shit, is it bin day?’ Or can I pay the mortgage this month? But you don’t wake at 3am wondering about renewing your lease that expires in a few months. You don’t panic about whether you’ll find somewhere that can take five kids and a dog. And a cat. You don’t have a stranger walking around your house with a folder marking boxes about your ability to perform tenancy to an adequate standard. You aren’t facing homelessness because of a lack of available rentals.
Staying in place has meant I have had a fixed address now for well over a decade. When I filled in the census last week I didn’t have to think about where I lived five years ago. I was here. This is the place my kids can call home. It’s where they moved out from, and where they come back to for their ‘re-set’. This is where I hosted my eldest daughter’s 18th birthday party and where I sat with her on Saturday night for her 31st. This is home.
And having it has allowed me to thrive. I have somewhere safe to sleep. I have paintings on every wall. I can hammer nails wherever I like. I can paint rooms in weird colours. I can pencil my kid’s height on a door frame and I can have my dog inside. I can have friends for dinner. I can have my extended family come and stay. I can plan Christmas.
I have a community. Local schools. Local shops. Local cafes. Local beaches. Local sporting clubs. It’s the architecture of belonging. Belonging is key to human happiness. Individuals who report having a sense of belonging to a group or community have fewer chronic diseases, live longer, and are happier.
Having a home has helped nourish my sense of belonging. I know the faces on the streets of my town. We say hi. Some hug. Some stop and chat. I don’t just belong, I am involved. Having a secure home has put me in relationship with my community. When I need something, I can ask for help. When someone needs something, I can step up. That’s meaningful social connection.
This isn’t advertised in real estate ads. This isn’t something you can photograph for a Home Beautiful magazine. But it’s the most beautiful thing of all. Home isn’t just about the actual property where you live. It’s about you and your community. It’s about finding the home not just on your street, in your town, but inside of you.
So when we don’t give people access to long-term secure housing – we deny them this vital part of the human experience. And that just doesn’t seem right.
Everyone deserves a home. Just one. For everyone.
Mandy Nolan’s column has appeared in The Echo for almost 25 years. She is a writer, comedian and artist, is the preselected Greens candidate for Ballina and was the Greens candidate at the past two federal elections.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
