A group of war widows are facing an uncertain future after their Dolls Point unit block was slated for redevelopment.
The War Widows Guild NSW plans to sell the apartment block on Russell Avenue, with seven war widows given until April to find somewhere else to live.
The women are aged from 65 to 97 with some living at the property for decades.
Jean McLaine, 86, said the decision has left her bitterly disappointed.
Her grandfather and father both died in war and her husband fought in Vietnam, Korea and during the British Commonwealth Occupation of Japan.
The Guild was a comfort to her when her husband died in 2009.
She moved from her house to St George seven years ago in a place where she thought she could spend the rest of her days.
‘’We’ve just been put out on the street,’’ she said.
‘’It’s the way they’ve gone about it. There’s no compassion, it’s just about money.
‘’They would have us out tomorrow if they could.’’
She said the decision had taken a toll on her health and had left her in tears.
‘’It’s such a distressing time, it’s made me very stressed,’’ she said.
‘’I have no idea what I’ll do. Some of us have said we’ll just sell all our things and pitch a tent next door.’’
June Mullens, 92, has lived in the complex for 10 years.
She said they had few viable options on where they could go.
‘’We’re horrified. We have nowhere to go, the list for public housing is a mile long,’’ she said.
‘’They’ve offered me a place in Gosford but I’m 92. I don’t know anyone up there, I don’t have my doctors there and I don’t know the public transport. It’s laughable.
‘’What we would like is an extension of time, three years would be fantastic.
‘’We know that the place will be eventually sold but half of us will be gone by then.’’
Peggy Killiby, 97, has been living independently in her unit for 35 years.
‘’I’ve lived here most of my life. They told me it was a home for life when I came here,’’ she said.
‘’My only option is to move to Victoria with my daughter but I don’t want to be a burden.’’
The matter has been taken up by Member for Rockdale Steve Kamper.
He spoke on the issue in Parliament earlier this month and is working with the State Government to see the women stay.
‘’I was horrified when I first heard,’’ he said.
‘’These are women who have lost their husbands to war who fought on behalf of our country. These women have gone through enough.
‘’But the fight’s not over, we’re working with the government to see a result.
‘’I believe we can get a positive outcome.’’
He said he hopes that would mean seeing the women staying in their homes.
War Widows Guild NSW Chief Executive Patricia Campbell said since 2002, the Guild has sold seven of its housing properties with the proceeds used for services for all members.
Only two properties, at Dolls Point and Drummoyne, remain under Guild ownership.
She said that the widows were told of the sale five years ago with it being a condition in some of the lease contracts.
‘’The age and nature of the remaining two properties is increasingly unsuitable for older women, especially given the lack of lifts to upper levels,’’ she said.
‘’Communication with residents about plans to vacate these facilities and find suitable alternate accommodation has occurred on a regular basis since 2012.’’
She said they had connected tenants to organisations that provided low-cost housing alternatives as well as encouraged them to register for public and community housing.
‘’ We certainly appreciate a housing move in the later stages of life can be stressful for our residents,’’ she said.
‘’That is why we have been working with the remaining residents of the Drummoyne and Dolls Point facilities and their families towards the most suitable outcomes, just as we have done successfully on numerous occasions for members in other properties since 2002.’’
