Place to call home in Moreton Bay
Sonya and her youngest son Blade, 10, were about to move in temporarily with her eldest daughter - after having to move out of their rental - when they received a call from a property manager about her eligibility for a new affordable two-bedroom rental in Burpengary East.
“I was so distressed,” Sonya said.
“We’d put everything in storage, and we were going to sleep on my daughter’s lounge…then I got a call from one of the property managers who said I might be eligible…my heart was beating so fast.”
Seven months later in her new home in Burpengary East, Sonya said she finally feels settled.
Having moved just across the highway from Morayfield East, the transition was smooth, with no need to change schools or jobs with both her workplace and Blade’s school close by.
Sonya is renting an affordable two-bedroom house under the Southeast Queensland project, Everyone’s Place Affordable Housing - with rents capped at 75 per cent of market rates to ease financial pressure on eligible families, couples, and multigenerational households in need.
With more than 100 affordable homes completed and tenanted, the Everyone’s Place consortium partners - Tetris, Metricon, KDL Property Group and National Affordable Housing - continue to work with the Queensland Government to deliver 483 affordable homes in total by early 2027 in high-demand suburbs including Burpengary East, Jimboomba, Logan Reserve and Joyner.
In Sonya’s case, it’s given her and Blade a sense of community.
“As soon as we first moved in, the neighbours were really good, it was just really nice with everyone just getting along and wanting to get to know people,” Sonya said.
“It’s really a community-based little village.…everyone’s walking with their dogs or children - it’s got a nice calmness to it.”
Sonya said that while Blade loves the nearby park and enjoys visits from his siblings, nieces and nephews, the gamechanger was when, Blade met a new friend Lucas - the son of her neighbour - in the first weeks of moving in.
“He said to me, ‘Mum, I really like Lucas. He makes me feel happy.’…It showed me that we were in the right place,” Sonya said.
Originally from Bundaberg, Sonya came to the Moreton Bay region in 2020 after spending time in a women’s shelter.
She’s now living in the same area as her daughter and can drive to visit her other children in Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast.
“Where we are right now is such a good time in our lives,” she said.
“I’m just a free spirit… you believe the universe has a plan for you, and that helps you get through.”
Sonya has made the space a beautifully decorated home – recently adding the Christmas tree and decorations throughout.
She and Blade are now looking forward to Christmas in their new home – and have already purchased matching outfits for the whole family to wear on the day.
“The tree up now encourages me to buy presents…I look at the tree and think, okay, I’ve got to fill it,” she said.
“It’s going to be a great Christmas this year.
“It’s been so hard not knowing where you might go...this feels good. It feels safe.”
