Single mother Cassandra is desperate to stay in the three-bedroom home she rents with her two school-aged children.

The 36-year-old became homeless after fleeing domestic violence and spent five years moving from refuges to emergency accommodation and transitional housing.

She has now lived in the same place for more than three years in Melbourne’s outer east, a rental that “means everything” to her.

But working one day a week, Cassandra is doing it tough.

“The rent only increases once a year, but my income’s not increasing,” she told AAP.
Full Story