Lee Banfield, from the Queensland not for profit group Coast2Bay Housing, said older women often felt unsafe in share accommodation.

"We've had women say they'd actually rather sleep in their car than share accommodation," she said.

Her organisation has joined others to create an online service that operates like a dating website, where women can look for housemates rather than soulmates.

The Better Together project will allow women to look at each other's profiles before meeting, and eventually deciding whether to share a house.

One of the first people to sign up to the housemate website is former teacher, and art consultant Tricia Cullum.

"I have no money, I have no superannuation and I live off a pension," she said.

"At the moment life on the Sunshine Coast is becoming so expensive, especially in the rental area, that a pension just will not cut it."

The 82-year-old survives on her pension by making her own clothes, but has been warned that the rent for her affordable unit in Nambour on the Sunshine Coast, will soon increase by 20 per cent.

"There's only a few options left for me. One of them is living in the back of my car but very soon I won't be able to have a car."

The pensioner said she felt she had run out of options, but didn't want to move far from her family or move in with them, and risk the family relationships.

She said she knew of many older women facing similar predicaments and hoped they would also sign up to share housing.

"I've had a good life and I've got strong morals and strong values, but I am the new homeless, as are many other well educated people for no reason of their own — that's just the way that life has happened. And if we can help them through this scheme I say go for it!" said Ms Cullum.

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Artical posted Fri 1 June 2018 By Jacqui Street