Sydney’s homeless crisis far worse than authorities will admit

For too long, too many in power have tiptoed past Sydney’s homeless crisis, which has now reached breaking point but there is a fix within reach many experts support, writes Jonathan Chancellor.

OPINION

The upcoming Vinnies CEO Sleepout is the charity’s 19th annual reminder of the blight of homelessness. The night does more than superficially provide its business leader attendees with the briefest of direct lived experience, as the funds they raise goes towards providing food and accommodation to those in need.

But more than deep pockets and the best of intentions are needed to break the cycle of homelessness.

Paul Nicolaou, the executive director of Business Sydney, tops the sleepout list of Sydney fundraisers so far this year.  His supporters have committed some $400,000 plus over his five years in attendance.

Business Sydney has long called for the appointment of a NSW homelessness commissioner to better co-ordinate the efforts of charities and government agencies. Nicolaou last week said he doesn’t pretend to be an expert on how to solve homelessness and admires the work of those who try to alleviate the crisis.

A man walks past the homeless bedded down outside the RBA building. Picture: Thomas

The homeless crisis at Martin Place around the RBA building. Picture: Thomas Lisson

Paul Nicolaou during the St Vinnes CEO Sleepout in Sydney.

But he ponders why hundreds are sleeping rough and how their mental health issues are being addressed.

NSW has a newly appointed strata commissioner and a rental commissioner so a commissioner for the homeless would seem to have some merit.

The current situation is too many in charity, social work and council and government officialdom figuratively tiptoe past the people sleeping rough given the daunting complexity of the challenges.

For starters are we seriously supposed to believe the figure of just 280 sleeping rough across the 33 suburbs within the municipality of Sydney, up just three over the past year and lower than pre Covid?

The growing number of rough sleepers seen in the dormitory-style encampment on the doorstep of the Reserve Bank in Martin Place, under its temporary construction hoardings, would suggest otherwise.

Nicolaou adds his concern for people living under the steps of Sydney Town Hall, under the light rail viaduct at Wentworth Park, at Circular Quay and numerous other locations.

He has signed up to the objectives of the Sydney Zero organisation that rough sleeping in Sydney should be rare, and of short duration when it does happen.  

Homeless man Tim seeks refuge at the RBA building after living on the streets for 2 months. Picture: Thomas Lisson.

About seven people are sleeping rough outside the RBA headquarters. Picture: Thomas Lisson

One of the men sleeping rough outside the RBA said he had been on the social housing waiting list for seven years. Picture: Thomas Lisson

Of course providing emergency housing is just the start to an empathetic long-term solution to homelessness, so the creation in February of Homes NSW – merging the housing and homelessness functions of the Department of Communities and Justice with the Land, Housing Corporation and the Aboriginal Housing Office to streamline the delivery of more homes – was a good administrative start.

And this month it determined an inner city social housing block set for redevelopment could wisely be temporarily used to provide crisis accommodation for women and children escaping domestic violence in partnership with community housing provider, Bridge Housing.

The state government also announced the appointment of five outreach mental health housing liaison staff this month, applauded but the wider community awaits more assertive outreach.