Latest News

federal spotlight turns to housing

19th December, 2022: Affordable housing will be the next parliamentary priority as the federal government releases its promised plan to help ease the crisis. After addressing election commitments to tackle climate change, childcare costs and establish a national anti-corruption commission in 2022, the government has revealed housing as being first on the agenda for 2023. Click on the photo to read the full story.

shoalhaven homeless hub’s christmas lunch a success

19th December, 2022: Santa visited the Shoalhaven this week with a special visit the the Homelessness Hub. Guests and staff enjoyed a festive lunch together, welcomed back after the disruption of COVID. Click on the photo to read the full story.

rise of the working homeless

17th December, 2022: People with jobs and families will be seeing out Christmas in camping grounds and motels, as experts warn of a new kind of crisis. Click on the photo to read the full story.

The Big Issue celebrates 25 years

16th December, 2022: The Big Issue magazine concept came to Australia in 1993 when a group of prominent citizens came together to explore solutions to help address Australia’s increasing homeless population. Based on the UK’s successful Big Issue street magazine model the first issue was released on the steps of Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station on June 16, 1996.

Click on the photo to read the full story.

property council of australia calls for action on housing affordability

14th December, 2022: An alliance of property and housing sectors, including the Property Council of Australia, Community Housing Industry Association NSW, Shelter NSW and Homelessness NSW call on the NSW Government for bipartisan support and investment for affordable housing. Click on the photo to read the full statement.

Illawarra rental affordability a future indicator of homelessness

09th December, 2022: The Illawarra Mercury reports on the continuing issue of rental affordability across the Illawarra. An interview with a local renter highlights the experience and anxiety of those who are currently renting. To read the full article click on the photo.

housing ministers meet for the first time to address homelessness

06th December, 2022: The first Housing and Homelessness Ministerial Council (Ministerial Council) was held in Sydney on 6 December following its re-establishment by National Cabinet on 30 September 2022. Click on the logo to access the full press release

Country towns record increasing homelessness

05th December, 2022: The 2022 Australian Homelessness Monitor reveals a rapid growth in homelessness in regional Australia over the past four years. The monitor, commissioned by Launch Housing and conducted by researchers from the University of Queensland and the University of NSW, is the first major homelessness analysis spanning the COVID-19 years. Click on the photo to read the full story.

cost of living pushes more people under the poverty line

02nd December, 2022: A new report from the Poverty and Inequality Partnership led by the Australian Council of Social Services and the University of NSW highlights the impact of the removal of the $275 per week COVID-19 supplement to people receiving Commonwealth benefits. Click on the image to read the full story.

New refuges to support women and children leaving violence

21st November, 2022: The NSW Treasurer, Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Women, Minister for Women's Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence have released information relating to the funding of 39 new refuges by the NSW Government. Click on the photo to read the full release.

Katherine has homelessness rate 31 times the national average

20th November, 2022: The ABC reports on the potential relief of the homelessness crisis in Katherine in the Northern Territory with their “Homeless Hope” report. Click on the photo to view the full report.

street side medics launch in wollongong

18th November 2022: 2022 Young Australian of the Year, Dr Daniel Nour, Street Side Medics is a not-for-profit, GP-led mobile medical service for people experiencing homelessness. It officially launched its free mobile healthcare to Wollongong’s homeless community on Thursday 17 November. Click on the photo to read the full article.

ACT Minister acknowledges plan for homelessness is a “milestone”

16th November, 2022: The ACT Government’s Strategic Investment Plan for the Homelessness Sector was released this week. It marks, the responsible ministers say, a milestone in a new approach to designing and funding homelessness services. To read the full article click on the photo.

report older people experiencing homelessness released

12th October, 2022: The NSW Parliament Inquiry into Homelessness amongst older people aged over 55, instigated by Greens MLC and Central Coast resident, Abigail Boyd, has released its report, delivering 40 substantive recommendations. To read the full article click on the photo.

targeted early intervention proven model for youth at risk of homelessness

05th October, 2022: The Albury Project, which provides early intervention measures for youth at risk of homelessness, is considered a model for implementation across the border in Wodonga. Click on the photo to read the full story on the ABC.

cost of living driving homelessness across NSW

04th October, 2022: The Daily Telegraph reports that NSW is experiencing a spike in homelessness as soaring cost-of-living pressures and skyrocketing rents push more residents onto the streets. Click on the photo to read the full story from the Daily Telegraph.

wayside chapels launches “long walk home” on 2gb

04th October, 2022: Reverend Jon Owen talks to 2GB’s Joe Hildebrand about the Wayside Chapels’ Long Walk Home event that aims to give participants an understand of the 28kms walked each week on average by people experiencing homelessness in search of support services and a safe place to sleep. Click on the photo for further information.

Rental affordability continues to dominate drive to homelessness

03rd October, 2022: Regional areas used to be the sort of places people working in low- to middle-income jobs could reasonably expect to find a home. A Four Corners investigation has shown thanks to the critical lack of social and affordable housing, they're not anymore. Click on the photo to read the full story.

Productivity Commission Releases Housing and Homelessness Agreement Review

30th September 2022: The Productivity Commission delivers its verdict on Australia’s housing and homelessness agreement, with extensive recommendations for its future. Click on the link to access the full report.

housing crisis forces families into homelessness

28th September, 2022: Mr Etienne, his wife Elyse and their three children became homeless four years ago after selling their family farm on the New South Wales Central Coast so they could move to the Upper Hunter to help care for his sick father. Click on the photo to read the full story on the ABC.

Locals tackle housing crisis with nsw government

27th September 2022: Local residents in Port Stephens on the NSW Central Coast, have taken to protesting to highlight the opportunity for temporary housing in the local area. Click on the photo to read the story in full.

Women over the age of 55 experiencing homelessness need safe, functional housing

25th September 2022: The Design Guide For Older Women's Housing, produced by a group of female architects, tackles the burning issue of how to build safe, functional housing that also addresses women's emotional needs. Click on the photo to hear the full interview.

out of home advocates call for increase of age of leaving care in NSW to 21

18th September 2022: Advocates for young people in the foster care system say the rising cost of living is driving up youth homelessness, raising the urgency for NSW to follow other states and extend care for state wards until 21. Click on photo to read full articles in the Sydney Morning Herald.

supporting the homeless by looking after their pets

14th September 2022: PROJECT HoPe and Jewish House hosted a pop-up clinic at Mission Australia, supporting people experiencing homelessness and providing their pets with veterinary care. Click on the photo to read the full story at The Australian Jewish News.

regional areas feeling the effects of homelessness

14th September 2022: An estimated 50 families are homeless and living at North Moruya Campsite - according the Gilmore MP Fiona Phillips. Click on the photo to read the full story in About Regional online.

99 Per cent of rentals out of reach for Australians on disability pensions

31st August 2022: The Disability Royal Commission thousands of people living with a disability have experienced homelessness. Very few rentals are affordable for people living on the disability pension and advocates say providing support to prevent homelessness required years of work. Click on the photo to read the full story from the ABC.

Disability Royal Commission examining experience of homelessness

29th August 2022: The Disability Royal Commission will hear from more than 20 witnesses about the barriers people with disability face trying to find secure, safe housing across Australia. To watch the report click on the photo.

St Vincent’s Health Network launches mobile hospital service for Sydney Homeless

14th August, 2022: A new “hospital-on-wheels”" from St Vincent’s Health will provide services ranging from heart and blood checks to telehealth mental health session. St Vincent’s Homeless Health Service nurse unit manager Erin Longbottom says there is a huge health disparity between the general population and people experiencing homelessness. Click on the photo to read the ABC News Report.

End Street Sleeping Illawarra Launches

05th August, 2022: The Illawarra Region has joined the End Street Sleeping Collaboration (EESC) in our goal to reach 50% reduction in street sleeping by 2025. Click on the photo to read more.

Non-Residents Forum hears from lived experience

20 July 2022: Julie Power of the Sydney Morning Herald speaks with non-residents and their experience with homelessness at the first “A Right to Home” forum held in Sydney. Click on the photo to read the full story.

Barhead Solutions and End Street Sleeping Collaboration (Satya Nadella 2022 Inspire Keynote)

19 July 2022: Collaboration is at the core of everything we do - hence the name! So collaborating with our technology partners Barhead Solutions and Microsoft to use Microsoft products to create the By-Name-List was logical.

Rough sleeping on the rise: Why Dave chose to return to the streets

12 June 2022: Despite efforts, service providers say rough sleeping is on track to be worse than it was before the pandemic. The City of Sydney found 225 people sleeping rough within the CBD and surrounds in February, compared with 275 the previous year.

‘It haunted me’: Why young doctor fought to bring healthcare to the homeless

10 June 2022: In a white Mercedes van, a resident doctor, a GP, a neurologist and more medical volunteers set up the Street Side Medics surgery under the train overpass in Woolloomooloo, and start chatting to the local homeless.

Sydney leading the world to end street sleeping says International Report

7 June 2022: Sydney is leading the way in a global program to end street sleeping, just one of two cities to meet its 2020 target to cut rough sleeping. Sydney also virtually eliminated street sleeping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New app brings NSW one step closer to reducing street sleeping by 50%

1 June 2022: To help achieve the ESSC’s mission, Microsoft and Barhead Solutions were tapped to explore solutions that could use technology to help solve the growing problem of street sleeping.

The high cost of homelessness revealed in new data

16 May 2022: People who use homelessness services cost governments $186,000 on average, nearly four times more than the general NSW population, an innovative data approach has found.

Sydney's Barhead deploys new app to combat homelessness

16 May 2022: Sydney-based Barhead Solutions has joined forces with the End Street Sleeping Collaboration (ESSC) to develop a new app to combat homelessness in Australia. Named By-Name List (BNL) 2.0, is a real-time app to help street sleepers in Australia find accommodation.

$6 million funding boost to address city homelessness

26 April 2022: The Malinauskas Labor Government has announced it will invest $6 million into Hutt St Centre, Catherine House and Vinnies to help address homelessness in the city.

"We need to do more social housing" says Premier Perrottet

14 April 2022: At Wesley Mission’s Easter breakfast in Sydney, Superintendent  Stu Cameron got to grill (lightly) the still-new NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, who confessed to a re-think on social housing.

“It’s not just getting people into homeownership. It’s getting people into housing and [dealing with] homelessness,” Perrottet told Cameron.

Seniors over-represented among homeless in NSW

6 April 2022: New insights from the End Street Collaboration’s By Name List (BNL) show that people over the age of 50 experiencing homelessness do not have access to the support they need.