Margaret River resident Yasmin Seroney contends with the reality of casual work and high rent everyday, and she has shared her story after reading an article titled 'Low income a barrier to housing in the South-West' published in the Mail.
Ms Seroney said she started falling behind financially when her mum became terminally ill and she became her carer, along with raising her then four-year old child as a single parent.
Even though Ms Seroney had rented properties and owned homes in the past she was forced into a WA Housing Authority home.
Ms Seroney is now self-employed and has a seasonal lecturing job at university, but the reality is, some weeks she would not earn enough money to cover rent in the private market.
"I feel trapped in this situation even though I have done everything right and have two degrees," she said.
"I am terrified all the time about my future, I thought I was going to be okay in life and would skim past all these problems, then bang, it was because of caring.
"This home costs me $156 a week, all I can find in Margaret River is a home for at least $390 or a one bedroom cottage in the bush with no facilities."
Shelter WA chief executive officer Michelle Mackenzie said this was one example of an issue happening all over WA.
"It is the working poor, there are just not enough affordable rental properties. I would say we are in a crisis at the moment for affordable housing for people on low incomes."
Ms Mackenzie said there were easy solutions and that the government could think about housing as being critical infrastructure.
She said more investment was needed in social housing and local government should look at their planning schemes to incentivise more affordable and social housing.
Another option, Ms Mackenzie said, could be a subsidy so people could rent in the private market where properties were already available.
The National Rental Affordability Scheme, or NRAS, was a joint Commonwealth and State Government initiative that sought to increase the supply of new affordable rental housing.
There are 19 homes in Busselton, 42 homes in Dunsborough and 29 homes in Margaret River on the scheme.
Department of Communities assistant director general Helen Nys said the scheme encouraged large-scale investment in private rentals and reduced rental costs for lowincome households.
Ms Nys said NRAS provided an annual financial incentive to approved housing providers for up to 10 years to make their properties available for letting to tenants at a reduced rent.
NRAS commenced on July 1, 2008 and finishes on June 30, 2026.
