The Forgotten Women - Mercy in Action in Queensland, Australia

Introduction

Sheltering the homeless is one of the Corporal works of Mercy that are featured in the sketches of Clare Agnew. These sketches give us insight into  the needs the Sisters of Mercy addressed in 1830s Dublin.  It is this work of Mercy that Sandra Lupi rsm is highlighting in this story.

The Forgotten Women

Lauren’s story

“I  lived in a rental house with my husband and my adult son  who had no job. He said he was looking for one and went out each day. My husband,  Tom , couldn’t work full time as he was ill, and I did cleaning in other people’s houses to make a little extra.    Any money earned went on our rent ,food and medicine. When Tom died, I discovered  we had no  savings left – my son had gambled that away, I couldn’t keep paying the rent, so we were evicted. So here I am at 72 -homeless.”

There are so many stories like Lauren’s. These women  could have lived in 1830s, Dublin or 2026 Brisbane, Australia.

In Australia women over 55 are the fastest growing homeless population.  There are more than 40,000 Queensland women over the age of 55 who are suffering financial hardship driven by rising cost of living, limited or no superannuation and a lack of affordable housing options.  Whether suffering from bereavement, or the end of relationship or illness these vulnerable women find themselves on the homeless queue.

My story addresses this need and although Mangrove Community Homes is not a Church affiliated group, I believe The Forgotten Women initiative is a true work of Mercy and similar in intent to the mission of Catherine McAuley when she built the House of Mercy in Baggot Street Dublin.  Vulnerable women, poverty and homelessness were all part of Catherine’s Dublin.

The Forgotten Women Project is an initiative of a not for profit community organisation called Mangrove Community Homes.  This is a grassroots housing initiative whose purpose is  to support women over 55 who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness .

I have been involved with Mangrove Community Homes for over 10 years, and I am currently Chair of the Board of Governance.  The Board with the Senior Executive and in particular  an amazing and deeply committed  CEO , endorsed a strategic plan that includes building and acquiring properties for  the purposes of the Forgotten Women Project and also providing weekly  rental top-ups to ensure that older women can remain in their current rental homes​​​.

Alongside the actual building and acquiring properties  Mangrove Community Homes has a unique  giving campaign that enables the wider community to be involved in a variety of ways.  This campaign is called Live Like Her Challenge where participants are sponsored to sleep in their cars for one night.  Catherine McAuley involved others in caring for the poor and vulnerable. She chose Baggot Street deliberately to allow  the rich to see the needs of the poor and oppressed.  The Live Like Her Challenge enables the wider community to become aware of the needs of this vulnerable group of older women and contribute either personally or through sponsorship. Many women’s groups have made the Forgotten Women project their charity of choice as they  become more aware of the needs of other women in our society.  The tag line  “It could be your mother, your sister, your aunt or your grandmother “ makes the need personal and encourages a response.

As a Community Housing Provider, Mangrove Community Homes also seeks financial support and legislative approvals as it works in partnership with Local Councils and the Queensland State Government.

I introduced the  Young Mercy Links Brisbane 1footnote group to the Like Her Challenge as a means of being actively involved in fundraising and awareness raising about homelessness.

In 2025 and 2026 the YML Brisbane group organized and held Bake Sales raising over $2000 for the project. Sleeping in their cars  on the night of the  Challenge was  an awareness raising experience for these young women.  The statistics and stories of the women gave them insights into  a different world of poverty and pain.   In the words of Pope Francis: "Our goal is not to amass information or to satisfy curiosity, but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it.” — Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 18

Conclusion

In May 2026, Mangrove Community Homes officially opened its first purpose built property of 15 one bedroom homes specifically for this older age group of women whose average age is 72 years.  The mission of the Forgotten Women project is simple but urgent: to provide a safe and affordable place to call home.

​ENDS

Young Mercy Links is a social justice volunteer group of young adults.  The purpose of the group is for young adults to be in a supportive community, to take informed action for social and environmental justice, to develop leadership skills and to spend time in shared reflection and exploring spirituality.

Editor’s noter: Thanks to Sandra for sharing this story which is a simple but wonderful way of meeting an urgent need in today’s world.

Photos used with permission.