Homelessness

We work closely with allied services to reduce its impact in Sydney.

Why we’re doing this

Homelessness is a complex issue with no single solution. Our homelessness unit works 7 days a week to reduce homelessness and its impact in Sydney.

Action areas

Working in partnership with government, non-profit organisations and the corporate sector, we aim to:

facilitate rough sleepers out of homelessness
prevent people from becoming entrenched in homelessness
help reduce homelessness in other regions
make sure people are assisted out of homelessness quickly
enact a compassionate and proactive approach to the management of public space.

How we’re doing this

We’re investing $6.6 million over 3 years to operate our homelessness unit, which has been operating since 1984.

We’re the only council in NSW with a dedicated homelessness service. This includes $4.2 million funding for services to reduce homelessness through Family and Community Services NSW.

We take an active role in creating opportunities for partners to work collaboratively or come together to exchange new information and learn from each other.

Our programs and initiatives

Inner Sydney Registry Week 2015

From 30 November to 2 December, 516 people experiencing homelessness participated in a survey across inner Sydney.

The registry survey was conducted by our homelessness unit in partnership with The Haymarket Foundation, Neami National, Homelessness NSW and the Mercy Foundation.

The survey results are summarised in the infographic, Homelessness in Sydney. A full report on the results is available on the Homelessness NSW website.

An infographic listing homelessness statistics in Sydney Youth — Homelessness in Sydney Youth — Statistics gathered from a survey involving 516 people experiencing homelessness across inner Sydney from 30 November to 2 December 2015.Image: City of Sydney

As part of our commitment to help the most vulnerable people in our community, we work closely with the following organisations and services.

Neami

Provider of the Way2Home program that helps address the needs of the chronically homeless as well as the Inner City Assertive Outreach and Case Coordination for Vulnerable and Complex Clients, focused on rough sleepers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experiencing homelessness.

Connect 100

A program that at any given time will help 100 people experiencing homelessness find affordable housing.

Inner City Sydney Homelessness Prevention and Support Service for Young People

Provided by Launchpad, in partnership with the Ted Noffs Foundation and Weave Youth and Community Services.

Link2Home

Link2Home is the NSW Government's service that provides referrals to accommodation for people in immediate need. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:1800 152 152
We coordinate quarterly interagency meetings that attract service practitioners and volunteers from across the homelessness and allied services sector. The meetings aim to provide practitioners with access to speakers on related topics and the opportunity to share information and network with each other.

Each meeting is themed around a topic or issue and guest speakers regularly attend. Meetings are generally attended by 30 to 60 organisations depending on the theme.
Safe and affordable housing is a basic human right. It’s also fundamental to an inclusive, dynamic and sustainable city. 'Affordable' is defined in relation to income. A common benchmark sees rent costing no more than 30% of a low or moderate household’s gross income.

We work in partnership with community groups and other levels of government to address the chronic shortage of affordable housing in inner Sydney.