New generation of NSW homelessness as housing crisis hits workers hard

The housing crisis is driving a wave of “working homeless” rough sleepers, who have jobs by day but can’t afford or find a place to live. And tents are now popping up at a park near the PM’s inner west house.

Sydney’s housing crisis is driving a wave of “working homeless”, residents who can’t find or afford a home despite holding a job, with the situation so bad an encampment of tents and car sleepers has emerged in the heart of Anthony Albanese’s inner-west electorate.

Tents are pitched in the grounds of Enmore Park, 3.4km from the Prime Minister’s Marrickville home, complete with portable BBQs, water supplies, sleeping bags, tarps, cats and dogs – on top of a “community” of utes, vans and cars with night sleepers surrounding the popular park.

Many of the rough sleepers hold down jobs and have been forced into the drastic circumstances because of soaring rents and a lack of accommodation, with advocates slamming the housing system as “broken.”

Last week, while temperatures outside dipped to just under nine degrees, The Daily Telegraph spoke to multiple victims of the city’s “out of control” housing crunch.

Kerry, in her 30s, works as a jeweller by day but at night lives with her black cat and toy poodle dog Chelsea in a tent in the middle of Enmore Park.

Kerry has spent sometime in the park in a tent with her dog Chelsea and cat. Picture John Grainger.

“I got a little bit ill and before I knew it I couldn’t afford my rent as well as paying for my medication and staying in a place in Sydney,” she says.

“That’s the reason why I ended up so quickly on the streets – it was supposed to be just for a couple of weeks.”

Kerry’s black cat. “Electricity, power banks and things like that are your best friend,” she says. Picture John Grainger

Kerry said she doesn’t want to put her on benefits “because it’s a slippery slope that’s hard to get out of”.

“A lot of us don’t want to be put on government benefits … they’re still people out there working or hoping to start work but just can’t afford to rent.”

Many of the people living in tents and cars at Enmore Park have jobs. Picture John Grainger

Some of the vans at Enmore Park, where people sleep overnight because they can’t afford rents. Picture: John Grainger

Experts say Kerry’s case is not uncommon.

“The NSW housing crisis has become so severe that people with jobs are being forced to sleep in their cars or tents because they cannot afford to rent.” Homelessness CEO Trina Jones said.

“We know our housing system is broken when having a job is not enough to protect someone from homelessness.”

The PM’s Grayndler electorate has been hit hard. Last year St Vincent’s Social Justice Network reported at least 1700 residents counted as homeless - with 67 per cent of renters in “financial stress” and a ballooning social housing list with a ten year wait.

Many people are forced to live in tents at Enmore Park.

Exodus Foundation boss Reverend Bill Crews, who’s in the middle of his winter appeal to feed homeless families - says there’s “simply not enough housing” for many Sydneysiders – and his team are delivering nearly 1600 meals every day.

“It’s out of control” Rev Crews said. “Working homeless is real. Finding accommodation is like a game of musical chairs. It’s just sheer luck.”

Some people at Enmore Park choose to sleep in their cars after work.

One of them is a man in his 50s who works in Sydney but lives in Nowra on the NSW south coast. He saves on accommodation by sleeping in the back of his ute in a sleeping bag.

Another man in his 30s said he sleeps in his car by the park during the week, instead of going home on the western outskirts of Sydney.

“I find myself living in my car a lot, it’s a battle.”

The Inner West Council said they were aware of the situation and investigating.

“Several agencies have been involved in visiting Enmore Park and engaging with those people who are sleeping rough. We are aware of it and it’s distressing because it’s a terrible time of year to be sleeping rough.”

Tents in Enmore Park. Picture: John Grainger

The Prime Minister was asked what steps he was taking to tackle the housing crisis in his own electorate.

A government spokesman said that “we can’t fix a decade of failure from the previous government overnight.

“The Budget also included an extra $67.5 million boost to homelessness funding to states and territories on top of approximately $1.6 billion provided annually to states and territories for housing and homelessness through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement,” he said.

NIGHT IN THE PARK OPENED MY EYES

- William Tyson

Over the years I’ve enjoyed my fair share of pints at Marrickville’s Vic on the Park pub – but I never knew that just across the road, there’s people down and out in the grounds of ­Enmore Park.

I’ve been guilty of associating homelessness with addicts and the unemployed, but the rough-sleepers I spoke to in the park this week while on assignment for The Daily Telegraph were all full-time workers.

It was a wake-up call for me, to say the least.

Telegraph journalist Billy Tyson in his car after spending the night at Enmore Park. Picture: Jonathan Ng

I’m fully aware of how fierce the cost-of-living crisis is and just how expensive Sydney’s rent has ­become, but what I didn’t realise is how it had forced so many people with stable jobs on to the streets.

After escaping Victoria’s relentless Covid restrictions, a woman called Kerry decided to return to her job and home in Sydney. But after being away for three years, she suddenly found herself in a vulnerable position.

Kerry lives with her dog and cat in the park. Picture: John Grainger

With her back against the wall, Kerry decided to leave behind her rental accommodation and camp out in the park – a stone’s throw from homes that sell for upwards of a ­million dollars in Sydney’s trendy inner west.

Within her tent was her entire life – her belongings, valuables, cooking amenities, even her dog.

But, despite the uncomfortable 9C temperatures I felt that night while doing this story, Kerry still had an optimistic smile on her face.

Journalist Billy Tyson said spending the night in his car was a huge wake-up call.

The only thing that made me chill more than the weather was the regular sound of footsteps from strangers passing through the park as I tried to sleep in my car in the middle of the night.

I have a new respect for people like Kerry, who are out working jobs in the day but are forced to sleep in these conditions at night.

Homelessness as a whole is a massive problem in Sydney, but what the current rental and cost-of-living crises have done to thousands of full-time workers across the country is a whole other issue.

Originally published as New generation of NSW homelessness as housing crisis hits workers hard