By Molly Magennis
Kate De Marco is a Seaholme resident, a single mum and Hobsons Bay’s 2022 Citizen of the Year.
She was awarded the latter for her amazing community work during the pandemic, setting up a pantry in her driveway to allow those in need to easily access food and other staple items.
Having been a social worker for 20 years, she’s all too familiar with the stresses that many vulnerable community members face everyday, that others often take for granted.
But Ms De Marco has also experienced some of these issues first hand, having been the victim of rental stress on several occasions.
An increasing issue in Australia, rental stress describes people who are at risk of experiencing difficulty meeting their rental costs. Often these people are on low to moderate incomes.
Ms De Marco, who describes herself as someone on a low to moderate income, is no stranger to the rental process, having rented 47 properties since she was 18 years old. She said renting wasn’t much of a problem until she became a single parent about nine years ago.
After struggling to find a suitable rental for her and her son, Ms De Marco moved into a property in Seaholme in 2017.
Despite the property not being suitable in terms of size and affordability, it was the only option she had at the time.
“I found something that was way too big for us, but there was nothing else that was suitable,” she said.
“I asked for a seven year lease, now I know they don’t do seven year leases, but I was like we want to stay for seven years because my child’s at school, I don’t want to move him….I need to build a sense of community and neighbourhood around our family.”
Ms De Marco said she ended up renting out a few of the rooms just to help cover the costs of the property.
During the height of the pandemic, July 2020, Ms De Marco was told that the landlord wanted the property back, and that she had to be gone by November. This event put her under an overwhelming amount of stress.
“They wanted me to move and I’m like, oh my god we are in like the hardest lockdown world’s ever seen. I can’t view a property except online,” she said.
“I cannot tell you…..the stress that it put me under like, unbelievable amount of stress.”
Thankfully Ms De Marco was able to move into a different property in Seaholme, where her and her son have been happily living ever since.
Due to her own experiences and what she’s witnessed as a social worker, Ms De Marco is a big advocate for social housing.
She said because suburbs like Williamstown and Altona have become more affluent, council rates have also skyrocketed.
“The council is also just as liable for the inability for people to live affordably because they could do something about it, it’s not like I haven’t had this conversation with them as well.”
Last week, Star Weekly reported that Hobsons Bay council were seeking state government funding for a social housing project in Laverton.
Hobsons Bay mayor Peter Hemphill acknowledged that rental prices in the municipality have skyrocketed.
“Rental prices in Hobsons Bay have risen substantially over the past decade and many residents have been priced out of the rental market and compelled to move away from their schools, workplaces and support networks,” he said.
“I think the Laverton project is one of what should be many in our community,” Ms De Marco said.
“Why can’t Hobsons Bay be a leader?”
“Why can’t local communities run by local councils be the people that create that change?”
