‘You lose everything’: Inside the reality of Sydney’s rough sleepers
Exclusive: While the cluster of makeshift shelters across Sydney’s CBD may appear as an eyesore to many, they are home to a growing number of people who have fallen on hard times.
Rows of shopping trolleys, eskies and make-shift tents line the main street outside of Circular Quay train station, as dozens of people try to find shelter during the winter months.
Clusters of makeshift shelters have continued to appear outside Sydney’s Circular Quay train station. Supplied
Craig said he spends most days trying to find somewhere for him and his young son to spend the night. Nine.com.au
The site is just a stone’s throw away from some of Sydney’s most expensive real estate and where luxurious yachts, carrying tourists, dock daily.
Close by in Pitt Street Mall, another homeless camp has recently been erected, outside shops like Zara and Footlocker.
Father Craig, 58, and his four-year-old son, are two of many doing it tough in Sydney’s freezing temperatures.
As his little boy sat playing with toys on the floor, he told nine.com.au that a typical day consisted of him trying to get a roof over their heads.
“When you become homeless, you don’t just lose your home - you lose everything,” he said.
“You’re left with a bag of clothes.”
Others said they’d been blacklisted from public housing with nowhere else to turn, while some faced wait times of up to 10 years just to have somewhere to stay.
Providential Homes, a self-funded Christian non-profit organisation, aims to provide temporary accommodation and essentials to people sleeping rough across NSW.
The group’s general manager, Beau Smith, told nine.com.au they come out and provide a free weekly barbecue to those that “society leaves behind” across multiple Sydney parks.
Providential Homes general manager Beau Smith said the organisation provides a weekly barbeque to those sleeping rough, including in Belmore Park in Sydney’s CBD. Supplied
“We load the bus up, and we put on a barbecue for the helpless, the homeless and people in need,” he said.
“Be compassionate, be grateful, have a heart for the people doing it tough.”
The group said they have housed about 2,500 people in homes over the past year, including a separate house dedicated to women escaping domestic violence.
In a statement to nine.com.au, NSW Housing and Homelessness Minister Rose Jackson admitted the system is under immense strain, adding that the government has put a “historic investment” towards curbing the problem.
Minister for Housing and Homelessness said the government has pledged a multi-billion strategy to curb homelessness. Rhett Wyman
“We established the first-ever NSW Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035, a ten-year plan to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring,” she said.
“[The government is] investing billions of dollars building new crisis accommodation and long-social housing.
“We are rolling out our historic $5.1 billion social housing building program, delivering thousands and thousands of new, permanent homes for people doing it tough.”
Jackson also said that while she does recognise there is still a lot more work to do, the number of people sleeping rough in Sydney’s CBD has dipped 14.5 per cent in the latest NSW Street Count.
Youth Off The Streets head of youth support services Michelle Ackerman said homelessness for young people rarely starts on the pavement.
“What we know really well is that young people will often experience couch-surfing and that is the prevalent way that homelessness is experienced by them,” she said.
A growing number of makeshift shelters have begun appearing in the city’s main strips including George Street. Supplied
About 80 per cent begin by couch-surfing because many young people don’t view sleeping on a friend’s couch as “real” homelessness.
Ackerman said constantly bouncing between homes erodes mental health and cuts people off from their networks entirely.
“It’s the support that sustains young people in young and affordable housing,” she said.
“We need to look at it more than a ‘rooflessness’ issue ... this is about someone having a place to call home, to be safe, secure and have a support structure around them to be able to maintain that.”
While the number of people sleeping rough is declining, the human reality on the ground is far more complex.
Until long-term housing is paired with early intervention and ongoing community support, many of Sydney’s most vulnerable will continue to slip through the cracks.
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