'Helpless' grandma’s desperate act for daughter facing homelessness in rental crisis

A desperate woman whose daughter and grandchildren are on the verge of "homelessness" admits to feeling "helpless" saying she "can't afford" to help the family find a suitable home.

Bethwyn's daughter Maddy lives in a rental property with her two children, aged 3 and 4, but it's no longer a "safe or calm" environment to raise the kids, she said.

As a result, the 27-year-old is hoping to move out, but the national housing crisis has made it difficult. "She doesn't have a car, so she's not going to sleep in a car, and I just don't have the room inside my house," Bethwyn from Perth told Yahoo News Australia.

'I don't have a lot of money'

Bethwyn is living in a "tiny beach shack" and is already struggling for space with two other daughters and a grandchild living there. "As a mum, I feel helpless because I don't have a lot of money. I just want her to have a roof over her head," she added.

Maddy is paying $345 a week in Gosnells, WA, about an hour from Bethwyn who is chipping in for rent to help her. "The house is literally fallen apart and it's mouldy, and the neighbours on both sides are from hell. I need to leave," Maddy told Yahoo, adding "there's absolutely nothing else" in that price range.

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Raising money for caravan is 'last resort'

As a full-time mum with no solid income, Maddy's been applying for houses "but is not having any luck". Because there is no room at Bethwyn's place for Maddy and her children to stay, they're hoping to raise money for a caravan. Bethwyn started a GoFundMe page to help raise enough money for the vehicle, which they will likely place on her property.

"It's the last resort. It's the last thing that I can help her with because I know what the rental crisis is like," said Bethwyn. "It can get quite stressful living in a caravan, but it's better than her being homeless — I've been homeless twice. The best outcome would be for her to get a house, but we have to be realistic."

Maddy said her situation has been "stressful and overwhelming". "It feels like you're failing as a parent. You just want to cry," she said, adding, "the crisis has made it much worse".

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