TWO cots are crammed in the lounge, mattresses are strewn on the floor and there’s a sleeping bag on the fold-out couch.
For Dianne Bramstedt, 58, and her six young grandchildren, a two-bedroom Werribee public housing unit doesn’t leave much wriggle room. But they’ve been waiting on the priority list for more than three years.
Dianne (pictured with Ryan, Alivia, Joshua and Maddison) has custody of the children, aged from six months to 11 years, because her daughter suffers mental health issues. “When I get up for the baby during the night, I’ve got to be careful I don’t trip over the beds and topple them out,” she says.
“They don’t like it. It’s too jammed up.”
Dianne says an upgrade to a larger house would make life a lot easier. “There’s no space for the kids to move, there isn’t even a big yard they can play in, and there’s no place for me to have any downtime. I’ve got a three-year-old sleeping with me, I can’t even watch telly for a bit of rest.”
