Wollongong 2022: Homeless Hub ramps up outreach service ahead of UCI race week to relocate rough sleepers

About 300,000 international and national spectators are expected to visit Wollongong across the eight-day UCI Championships from September 17 to 25.

Wollongong Homeless Hub manager Mandy Booker said rough sleepers and their belongings will need to be moved as a "natural consequence" of sections of the Illawarra being cordoned off, including parts of the Wollongong CBD.

"People are going to need to move where their current belongings are or where they've currently been camping," Ms Booker said.

The hub's outreach patrol, which involves connecting with rough sleepers and linking them to appropriate services, has increased ahead of the race to ensure people can be moved to emergency or crisis accommodation.

"Patrols are a service the hub often does but it has increased over the last few weeks, and will ramp up until the start of the race," Ms Booker said.

"We want to make sure out most vulnerable community members are not affected at all.

"We have multiple outreach services from Austinmer down to Shellharbour, with multiple control sites where there are long term rough sleepers, but also new rough sleepers that we want to get engaged and rehomed as quickly as possible."

Ms Booker said the hub is working closely with Wollongong City Council to ensure homeless people do not lose their belongings.

"Belongings are being retained if we can't locate the person, so we can keep them secure for them," Ms Booker said.

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Over the past three years the Illawarra has seen a steady increase in the number of people sleeping rough, from 11 in 2020 to 57 in 2022, according to Ending Street Sleeping Collaboration.

Ms Booker could not put a figure on how many rough sleepers across the Illawarra will have to be relocated during the race.

"We do have at least 10 people we are actively engaging with this week to make sure they are linked up with support and potential crisis and emergency accommodation where possible," she said.

No additional funding has been provided to the Wollongong Homeless Hub as staff increase their outreach service.

"We're very underfunded at the best of times," Ms Booker said.

"There are definitely additional pressures with limited funding to do the extra assertive outreach patrols that are needed at the moment.

"But we are also collaborating with other agencies, and (Wollongong City) Council has been collaborating well with us."

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Ms Booker hopes long-term housing solutions will come from linking people with services ahead of the UCI race.

"We do hope we can link people to crisis accommodation that will hopefully lead to some long term housing solutions for them," she said.

A number of service exhibitions called Ending Street Sleeping Collaboration will be held across the Illawarra next week to inform rough sleepers of where they can access help and how they can navigate the city during Wollongong 2022.

"It will allow them to get information, immediate referrals and links up to support immediately," Ms Booker said. "And if that's not possible, it will make sure they've got some support in place."

Wollongong:

Tuesday, September 6

Wednesday, September 7

Kiama/Shellharbour:

Tuesday, September 13

Wednesday September 14

Thursday September 15:

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