Life on the streets of Sydney’s ‘second CBD’ amid claims homelessness is coming back

It’s being dubbed Sydney’s “second CBD” with a humming administrative hub, skyscrapers, and bustling streets, but a sad issue could be coming back.

Rough sleeper Rob expressed a reluctance towards traditional housing due to ‘institutionalisation’ after years of homelessness. Picture: Jack Evans

It’s being dubbed Sydney’s ‘second CBD’ with a humming administrative hub, skyscrapers, bustling streets and all the other traits of the buzzing inner city to boot.

Big businesses, banks, and public services are moving to the Western Sydney suburb in droves, seeking affordable commercial real estate.

However, the city’s boom has seemingly driven housing prices sky-high.

Homes in the Parramatta region saw their prices increase most among all NSW areas in 2023, costing 10.54 per cent more on average.

And now it appears the boom is leaving some behind.

Parramatta, dubbed Sydney’s ‘second CBD,’ has witnessed a surge in commercial activity, attracting big businesses and public services seeking affordable real estate in the western suburbs. Picture: Jack Evans

Nestled with their worldly possessions strewn across an undercover entrance to a mothballed barbershop, Rob and Jaz are among the rough sleepers in Central Parramatta.

Two old, faded real estate signs lay across the facade as a marginal layer of added privacy from the street and footpath.

On the fringe of Parramatta’s buzzing city centre, the pair share an old double mattress on a rug while their goods are stored on a shelf made of milk crates.

Clothes, cooking equipment and other knick-knacks fill several shopping trolleys in their makeshift home.

Housing prices in the Parramatta region soar, with an average increase of 10.54% in 2023, driven by the city’s booming economy. Picture: Jack Evans

They told news.com.au they are forced to take turns leaving to pick up donations from Salvos or to spend the little they have at a nearby Coles so as not to have their possessions taken by local authorities or other homeless people.

The paid said they had noticed a slight increase in rough sleepers in recent months.

Rob told news.com.au he had been “institutionalised” by his three decades of homelessness in greater Sydney.

So much so, he isn’t interested in housing.

Rough sleeper Rob expressed a reluctance towards traditional housing due to ‘institutionalisation’ after years of homelessness. Picture: Jack Evans

“I don’t like housing; it takes a long time to get into housing anyway, and I’m sort of like institutionalised now after living on the streets for so long,” he said.

“I’d last two weeks (in a house), I’d wanna pack up my things and go back to the streets.”

“This is pretty much all I know – you get used to the lifestyle man.”

Mark said more support was needed for people on the streets who want housing, but also those, like him, who don’t.

“We just need some support with things like food, there is some but not much,” he said.

A beauty queen’s picnic

A food drop at Prince Alfred Square in inner Parramatta is the last place you’d expect to see a glamorous beauty queen and legal secretary rubbing shoulders with rough sleepers.

But every fortnight, that’s precisely what Analiese Bella Newton does.

She is one of numerous organisations that offer food and other services to central Parramatta’s homeless population.

“It’s actually pageantry that introduced me to helping the homeless seven years ago,” she told news.com.au.

“All pageant candidates have to have a charity or advocacy they support, and I was introduced to feeding the homeless by a friend.”

Community initiatives, such as Sausage Sizzle for the Homeless, led by Analiese Bella Newton (left), offer ongoing support and meals to those in need.

Homelessness in Parramatta is on the rise according to recent street counts – though officially, the numbers of rough sleepers has remained steady since 2021. Picture: Supplied

However, unlike others who she says swiftly abandon their causes post-competition, she has stuck at it since.

Each fortnight, Ms Bella Newton prepares meals and heads to the lawns of the park with her self-run and funded operation – Sausage Sizzle for the Homeless.

She says that while the number of those in need is far less than the 2020 peak, she’s now noticing new faces each time she heads to the park.

“Not all of them are (sleeping rough), but they are in need of food,” she said.

“A lot of them are new; I’ve never met them before.”

She says her organisation has given her an ongoing sense of purpose, even enlisting the help of her family.

“It’s a gathering; everyone sits down and has a chat; it’s a big picnic.”

Homelessness ‘crawling back up’

Officially, the City of Paramatta saw a dramatic decrease in its homeless population in 2020, but according to some, including rough sleepers themselves, the numbers are slowly crawling back up.

The City of Parramatta data from its most recent homelessness street count shows overall homelessness in the local government area has risen from 177 in 2021 to 204 in 2023.

Most of those are made up of secondary homeless – people with no usual residence who move frequently between various accommodations. Secondary homeless rose from 145 in 2021 to 174 in 2023.

The number of primary homeless – rough sleepers – has remained steady at around 30 since 2021.

The City states housing affordability is a critical issue in the area, and 24 per cent of its households in the private rental market are currently experiencing rental housing stress.

Is Parramatta just following a state trend?

According to the most recent data, the number of people rough sleeping in NSW is growing.

Figures from the 2023 NSW street count recorded 1623 people sleeping rough between February 2 to 27 2023 – a 34 per cent year-on-year increase.

The City of Sydney local government area reported the third highest increase in figures, with numbers increasing by 23 per cent from 225 to 227.

However, Homelessness NSW chief Dom Rowe last week told NCA NewsWire visible rough sleepers is merely the tip of the iceberg, with NSW facing a “homelessness tsunami”.

Primary homeless, such as rough sleepers, remain steady in numbers in parramatta, while secondary homeless, those without a usual residence, witnessed a significant increase. Picture: Supplied

“For every person who sets up camp in a park, there are dozens who are forced to remain in a violent or unsafe home or spend their days looking for the next couch to sleep on,” Ms Rowe says.

However, while frontline providers, like emergency or temporary housing services are already at “breaking point”, many expect the demand will only increase, Ms Rowe says.

“An increasing number of people are just one rent rise away from homelessness because of rising costs, vanishing rental availability.

“If two people walk into a frontline homelessness provider in NSW needing temporary accommodation today – whether it be in inner Sydney or the regions – one of them will be turned away.”

– With NCA NewsWire