Our annual street count has found that 14% fewer people are sleeping rough in Sydney’s inner-city streets and parks.
296 people were counted this year, down from the 346 counted in February last year. Crisis and temporary accommodation beds were almost at capacity, with 348 people staying in them on the night of the count.
Any reduction in the number of people experiencing homelessness is welcome news. But it is clear that more support is needed for those facing chronic homelessness or slipping through the cracks.
Our outreach teams and services work tirelessly every day to find limited emergency beds and increasingly scarce long-term housing. We invest over $2.4 million every year to reduce homelessness and its impact in Sydney.
We have held street counts since 2010 to track the number of people sleeping rough in the local area. The City has seen a sharp spike in the number of people sleeping rough living since the Covid-19 pandemic.
We estimate that about 20% of people sleeping rough in our area are not Australian residents. This group of people including international students, temporary visa holders and people seeking asylum are seriously vulnerable, with little support on offer and almost no access to supported housing.
And even though recent numbers reveal an overall decrease, up to 40% of those remaining on the streets are dealing with long-term homelessness due to complex mental and physical health challenges, as well as a severe lack of beds in psychiatric wards and transitional and long-term housing with specialised mental health support.
Many of the people lucky enough to be granted social housing can struggle to keep their tenancy without support.
We need another high-support housing project such as Camperdown's Common Ground in the City of Sydney. The $33.8 million Common Ground project was jointly funded by State and Federal Governments and made possible by the City amending its planning controls to enable this type of project.
It provides 104 homes and on-site services including a 24/7 concierge service, health, mental health, psychiatric, counselling and chiropractic services, computer training, podiatry, gym, cooking classes and art and movie sessions.
We also need more services like the Haymarket Foundation. It provides crisis accommodation and support services for people experiencing homelessness while living with mental health, disability, alcohol and other drug-related conditions.
The City of Sydney contributed $3 million towards a new premises that provides 34 self-contained units for women, men and transgender people over the age of 18. The Haymarket Foundation provides support, stabilisation and advocacy to establish safe housing pathways for clients towards a goal of long-term, independent living.
There is no place for homelessness in a prosperous, global city like Sydney. The Federal and State Governments must step up and continue working with us to further reduce the number of people sleeping rough on city streets.
