Sydney man sleeps rough after losing business and three homes
As MANY as 45 homeless people live rough and with little hope in a community on the banks of the Hawkesbury River. Sydney man Gordan, who lost his business and three homes, is among them, living a hand to mouth existence in the bush shanty town.
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AS MANY as 45 homeless people live rough and with little hope in a community on the banks of the Hawkesbury River.
This comes as The Saturday Daily Telegraph can reveal homelessness in Sydney has risen by almost 50 per cent since 2011 — and the biggest increases are among young people aged between 19 and 24 and older women.
They are homeless but instead of finding them sleeping on the street, they are staying with friends, calling in favours, sleeping in cars and still trying to hold down lives and jobs.
Sydney man Gordan, 61, who lost his business and three homes, is among them, eeking out a hand to mouth existence in the small bush shanty town at Windsor.
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“Unless you have been homeless you can never really know how bad it is,” says Gordan, who has been living along the Hawkesbury for six years.
“It is a desperate situation and that’s why people turn to drink and drugs. They feel helpless. They are just waiting it out until they die.”
SYDNEY’S HIDDEN HOMELESS: WOMEN WITHOUT SAVINGS MOST AT RISK
Linda Strickland, who runs the Hawkesbury’s Helping Hands charity, said: “Around Windsor there are probably around 45 people who are homeless at the moment.”
PHOTO ESSAY AND EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS: INSIDE SYDNEY’S SHANTY TOWN