Weekend Sunrise on Channel 7

Sally Piper

22 July 2026

I’ve been so grateful to have opportunities to sit down with Susan Davies, president and co-founder of Sharing with Friends, to talk about the different but complementary approaches we have taken to address the frightening increase in the number of older single women living in insecure housing.

Susan is bringing about change through her organisation by providing secure and affordable housing solutions for vulnerable older women and I’m raising awareness through my novel about an older woman who has lost her family home after a divorce and is now living in a caravan. But to have the opportunity to sit with Susan for an interview on Weekend Sunrise on Channel 7, was more than either of us could have hoped for!

Grab a coffee and join us if you can on Saturday 25 July at 8:45AM.

Sally Piper on Instagram

To avoid doing the work today, I’ve been remembering the various visitors I’ve had at my study window over the years.

Here’s me standing (and yakking) in one of the co-housing units that’s close to completion and which will provide secure and permanent housing for five single older women, all made possible by the the hard-working team @sharingwithfriends_foundation My new novel PEOPLE LIKE US is about a woman in a similar situation to the women soon to move into these homes. Reimagining how people need and want to be housed, and opening the way to make initiatives like this easier, is one solution to a problem that is only getting worse. As for the yakking, I’d love to see you at my event to launch the book on 30 June. It’s a free event but you will need to register for it via the link in my bio. My royalties from book sales on the night will go to Sharing with Friends. @uqpbooks @dmcprmedia

To anyone wanting to pit their literary trivia wits against the scarily literary savvy booksellers @riverbendbooks, then here’s your chance! And this month, proceeds from the night will be donated to @sharingwithfriends_foundation - a charity dedicated to providing co-housing communities for vulnerable older women. Tickets for the event can be booked through the link in my bio. #riverbendbookshop #trivianight #sharingwithfriends #cohousing #homesforall

It’s National Reconciliation Week so a good time to reflect on the First Nations authors I’ve read, what they’ve taught me and how much I still have to learn. It’s a glorious work in progress, guided by such talent and generosity of the authors in the books pictured, plus in the many copies of @griffithreview behind, with space still for the books I’m yet to read. National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme for this year is All In, a call for all Australians to commit wholeheartedly to reconciliation every single day. Because reconciliation will not happen by itself, and it will not happen without all of us. Artwork credit: Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung artist Otis Hope Carey. #nrw2026

When your pals @avidreader bookshop put the poster for your book launch in the window at the shop’s front door, your heart swells 💗

Five weeks today till PEOPLE LIKE US is published. I’d love to see you at the launch to be held on publication day at The Loft in West End, where I’ll be in conversation with Susan Hocking. I’ll be donating my royalties from book sales on the night to the not-for-profit organisation @sharingwithfriends_foundation. It’s a free event, but you will need to register your attendance via the @avidreader website. Link in my bio. I hope to see you there. ABOUT THE BOOK After Tina Lamb loses her family home in a bitter divorce, she finds herself living in a caravan on the city’s fringes. Having raised four children and nursed her dying mum, she was not anticipating making a new start alone or from scratch. And while some of her new neighbours are welcoming, she soon finds herself getting far more attention than she bargained for. When Tina finds work caring for a wealthy elderly woman, it is a welcome break from an ageist, sexist job market. But Mrs Bell is anything but predictable. Highly educated, acerbic and intimidating, she is not the straightforward charge that Tina had hoped for. As the two women form an unlikely friendship, they soon discover that financial security is about more than having money. Topical and absorbing, People Like Us celebrates the power of female friendships and the promise of new beginnings found in unexpected places. @uqpbooks @dmcprmedia #peoplelikeusnovel

This morning’s visitor cruising past my study window.

I was so pleased to see this full page ad in the @satpaper on the weekend for @launchhousing. To me it reflects that housing insecurity of older women is slowly getting the recognition it deserves in Australia, certainly given an estimated 240,000 women over 55 are currently in precarious housing (HILDA) and that number is growing year on year. Innovative housing solutions that offer safe, secure and affordable homes are one option, such as the co-housing model undertaken by @sharingwithfriends_foundation here in Queensland, but the economic disadvantages and inequalities that lead to homelessness of older women in later life also need to be addressed, such as the gender pay gap, currently at 21.1% (WGEA) and women’s lower superannuation balances due to a disrupted employment history because of family caring roles. #housingasahumanright #homesforolderwomen #housinginsecurity

I’ve been hearing great things about PHANTOM DAYS by @angelaokeeffewriter so I can’t wait to dip in. I also can’t wait to meet Angela and hear her talk about her third novel at the Magandjin-Brisbane launch @avidreader on 5 June. @uqpbooks #phantomdays #angelaokeeffe #booklaunch

I have a new novel coming out on 30 June called PEOPLE LIKE US. Amongst other things, this novel explores housing insecurity of older single women. I wrote it because I believe safe, secure and affordable housing is a human right for all but is sadly one that some people are denied. And disturbingly, women over 55 are the fastest growing group in Australia at risk of homelessness with 500,000 older women living in precarious housing. While writing the novel, I was fortunate enough to become involved with a group of women who founded a not-for-profit organisation called @sharingwithfriends_foundation. After almost six years of hard work, commitment, setbacks and perseverance, this organisation will very soon deliver its first co-housing community in Darra (Brisbane) which will provide forever homes for five women with limited means. This Mother’s Day, Sharing with Friends is asking for our help, and I extend this request to you. Please consider making a donation to support the important work and ambitions of this visionary organisation so that they can continue to build something different and create homes and supportive communities for vulnerable older women. Donations can be made via the link in my bio. Thanks so much for your help. #sharingwithfriends #peoplelikeusnovel #housingsolutions #cohousing #affordablehousing