Single mum-of-two Caitlin Brennan was 18 when she first put her name down on the social housing wait list.
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The Woonona woman, who was taken off the priority list a few years later after managing to find a private rental, is going through the all too familiar process again.
She lives with her two young children at her mother's three-bedroom unit - but something's got to give.
Caitlin lives with multiple mental health conditions, including complex post traumatic stress disorder which formed from events in her childhood.
She is also a recent domestic violence survivor, and says her mental health has deteriorated in recent years.
Living in an overcrowded home has only exacerbated the situation. Multiple support services are advocating for Caitlin to be moved to the priority housing wait list, she said.
"I've been trying to get priority because my mental health - it's just at breaking point," she said.
"I've been fighting to get priority three times now. I have doctors reports, past AVO (apprehended violence order) papers ...
"I'm not saying I want to be given a house instantly. I'm saying don't leave me rotting."
Caitlin is among the almost two-and-a-half thousand people between Helensburgh and Kiama who will enter the New Year on the public housing wait list - almost 300 are on the priority wait list.
There are more than 50,000 on the wait list statewide, with more than 6,500 on priority.
With a chronic shortage of supply in the Illawarra, ten-year waits for public housing have been the norm for some time. But Caitlin is crying out for a reprieve for herself and her kids sooner.
"With wait lists I keep thinking 'okay, I'm going to be in this position for 10 years. But what will happen in those 10 years?" she said.
"If I was put on the priority list, it would mean absolutely everything. It means my mental health would be stable, and I could be a better mum to my kids."
A Department of Communities and Justice spokesperson said the NSW Government works "as quickly as possible" to prioritise applicants most in need of social housing.
The spokesperson said this includes those who are homeless, escaping domestic violence, or with severe and ongoing medical conditions.
DCJ did not respond to questions about whether it expects wait lists to ease in the near future.
Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
