When people think about homelessness, they often picture someone sleeping rough on a city street. But in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, homelessness often looks very different. It can look like a parent sleeping on a friend’s couch so their children can stay in school. It can look like a family living in a motel room paid week-to-week. It can look like someone working full-time who simply cannot keep up with rising rent.
This is the hidden face of homelessness, and it is growing.
Homelessness is closer than people think
Across Sydney and NSW, housing costs have pushed more working people and families to the edge of crisis. Homelessness is no longer just about unemployment or long-term disadvantage. Increasingly, it is about housing affordability and the cost of living.
Recent data shows the scale of the problem:
- In NSW, more than 2,000 people were recorded sleeping rough in the most recent street count.
- Around 67,900 people sought help from homelessness services in NSW in a single year.
- Across Australia, more than 122,000 people are experiencing homelessness, while hundreds of thousands more seek assistance each year.
One of the most confronting statistics is how many people ask for help and cannot get accommodation.
Homelessness services in NSW are currently turning away an average of 59 people every day, largely because there is no accommodation available. Over a year, that equates to more than 21,000 people turned away when they ask for help.
These are not people who didn’t seek help. These are people who did everything right — they reached out — and there was nowhere for them to go.
Working families are one step from crisis
One of the most difficult realities we see is that many people who come to Jewish House are working. They are nurses, retail workers, hospitality staff, carers, students and tradespeople. They are contributing members of the community who simply cannot keep up with rising rents, bond payments and cost-of-living pressures.
Often, homelessness doesn’t begin with one dramatic event. It begins with a series of small setbacks:
- A rent increase
- Reduced work hours
- A relationship breakdown
- A medical bill
- A car repair
- A missed pay cycle
For many families, there is no financial buffer. One unexpected expense can mean falling behind on rent. Falling behind on rent can lead to eviction. And eviction can lead to homelessness.
This is why homelessness is a social justice issue as much as it is a housing issue.
A safe bed is often the first step toward recovery
At Jewish House, housing has never just been about a roof. A safe bed for the night is often the first step toward recovery, dignity and hope.
In December 2024, Jewish House opened a new centre for women and children in Randwick. With 52 rooms, it is helping keep more than 1,000 people off the streets each year, providing not just shelter, but food, clothing, school supplies, casework support and access to mental health professionals.
Early in 2025, we opened a Supported Temporary Accommodation house for men in Randwick. Within five days, it was full - a clear sign of the growing demand for crisis accommodation across Sydney.
Through programs like Couchsurfer, Jewish House also supports young people who are couch surfing or in unstable housing, helping them move toward safe accommodation and independence.
Every night, more than 189 people now sleep safely in Jewish House properties. They are supported by social workers, psychologists and case managers who help them take the first steps toward stability and permanent housing. From one building with five shared rooms, Jewish House has grown to nine properties across Sydney. However, demand continues to grow faster than available accommodation.
Why local accommodation is essential
In areas like Bondi, Randwick and Waverley, high rents and limited social housing mean that when people lose their housing, local help options are more limited.
But staying local is vital for their security and wellbeing. People need to remain close to:
- Their jobs
- Their children’s schools
- Medical and mental health services
- Family and support networks
When people are forced to move far away to find accommodation, they often lose employment, schooling continuity and support networks. This can push them further into crisis rather than out of it.
Providing local crisis and transitional accommodation helps people stabilise their lives and rebuild.
The gap between need and available rooms
The reality is simple and unfortunate: there are more people needing accommodation than there are rooms available. This is why people are turned away every day across NSW, and why expanding crisis and transitional accommodation is so important.
Every room represents a person or family who has a safe place to sleep and a chance to rebuild their life. Every additional room means fewer people turned away, fewer families sleeping in cars, and fewer people falling into long-term homelessness.
Get help today
If you or someone you know is experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing housing, please contact the Jewish House Crisis Line on 1300 544 357.
Help is available and you do not have to face this alone.
How you can help others
One of the most direct ways to help someone experiencing homelessness is to provide accommodation.
When you donate, you are doing more than funding a bed for the night. You are helping provide safety, stability and a pathway out of homelessness for someone who may have nowhere else to go.
Because the homelessness crisis is growing. And for many working families, it is only one crisis away.
