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A new initiative hopes to end street sleeping in the Illawarra after the region saw a five-fold increase in the past two years.
As of 2022, 57 people sleep rough in the Illawarra, an increase from 11 in 2020, but the End Street Sleeping in Illawarra Collaboration hopes to turn that rise around and eliminate street sleeping by 2030.
The initiative is a partnership between End Street Sleeping Collaboration, Wollongong Homeless Hub & Housing Services, NSW government departments and not-for-profit Neami National.
CEO of End Street Sleeping Collaboration Graham West said the program is part of a statewide initiative.
"We're trying to reduce homelessness, street sleeping by 50 per cent across NSW and the Illawarra is an important part of that," he said.
Working across agencies, the program supports those sleeping rough in the outdoors, including hard-to-reach areas such as sand dunes, as well as people living in vehicles and temporary accommodation.
High rents, a lack of affordable housing and personal circumstances has driven the rise of homelessness in the Illawarra, putting people at risk of death, either through illness or violence.
The collaboration aims to reduce street sleeping by 50 per cent by 2025, with the aim to eliminate street sleeping by 2030.
Mr West cited the experience of London, which saw a 25 per cent reduction in street sleeping between 2019 and 2021 through a collaborative approach. What was critical, however, was that efforts were maintained even when numbers reduced, to avoid homelessness rising again.
"You've got to keep responding to emerging needs, so if today our big issue is rising interest rates, it could be that in two years time, the issue is substance abuse issues," he said.
"You've got to constantly respond to it. You can't stop investing in services."
Working with not-for-profits and government agencies would contribute to making sure no one falls through the cracks, Mr West said.
"There's sometimes a lot of rules about what you can and can't do and we've also seen things where people get stuck in red tape in the system."
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