The Cost of Living Crisis is Driving People Toward Homelessness – We Need Change

‘There has always been a time and a place when we have encountered those who are less fortunate than us. Whether we are walking or not, some choose to stop, some choose to look away, and some of us just stare,” writes Bianca Tropiano. “We forget that we are all humans, people who had normal lives, people who deserve to have a normal life. We must stop normalising homelessness, and we must abandon the stereotypes among homeless individuals. There is a need for change, more availability, and more support.”

Homelessness is a primary issue throughout communities within NSW, rapidly increasing as the cost of living thickens, predominantly seen within the Parramatta LGA. Homeless individuals within Parramatta are yearning for more support, more assistance, more care. The solutions and programs to help assist homelessness in Parramatta have limited availability due to the high demand of resources since the rise in living costs. These individuals need more care, and need to live without fighting for survival. Lizzie Cowell and Elizabeth Thompson, are two homeless women who have been living in Parramatta train station for over 6 months. They are seen laying on concrete floors with one pillow between them both. Sharing it each night, as they lay beneath the train station. 

As the development of Parramatta is extensively growing, it is placing financial stress among households. With 50% of households in Parramatta experiencing stress and worry about their living stability, as housing stress can forcibly drive people into homelessness. With this, it also applies pressure to the services that are provided to aid homelessness individuals. Elizabeth, 54, is a homeless woman who had to flee her life after a domestic dispute, leaving her resisting in Parramatta Station from September 2023. “When I pictured my life, this wasn’t the plan,” Elizabeth reflects. Her struggles have been reflected through her rejection from resources, stating that “I have reached out to support programs and they can only do so much. They do promise a lot of stuff, but when it comes to the actual doing, nothing ever happens,” Elizabeth pleads.

 Elizabeth recalls a moment when she was helping a younger girl who was sleeping in Parramatta station. She had been turned away by an organisation due to lack of housing available. “They basically didn’t do much, they told the young girl that there were no vacancies anywhere and that’s all they did. I helped make some money to put together a bed for one night because nobody was helping the poor girl,” Elizabeth pleads. “Yes, there are resources out there, although many of them have requirements that make you meet criteria if you are in need of support,” says Elizabeth. Lizzie, 51, has been residing in Parramatta station for over 10 months due to unemployment and other underlying personal issues. She states that “A Lot of people will do a lot to avoid you when you are homeless. They know the problem is there but they don’t want to see it, until it comes to their own doorstep, they will understand”. Also contributing that, “It’s really hard to overcome homelessness when the cost of living is so high,” Lizzy says. In conjunction with Elizabeth’s statement, Lizzie believes that “primary and secondary homelessness should be treated equally, as support resources often mistreat secondary homeless individuals, leaving them to be homeless”. 

Primary homelessness, also known as rooflessness or being ‘unhoused’, is when an individual is living without shelter and basic life necessities. This type of individual usually lives in streets, without shelter. In Elizabeth and Lizzie’s circumstances, they fall beneath this category. Although both individuals believe that secondary homelessness is a counter issue that is not recognised as a primary problem. “Secondary homelessness is equally primal to primary homelessness,” says Elizabeth. Primary and secondary homelessness in the Parramatta LGA has extended and expanded largely due to the living crisis, which is expected to rise as the progression of price increase for housing, materials, and necessities will maintain at an all time high.

 It is imperative that more support programs and resources are made available for primary and secondary homeless individuals in the Parramatta LGA to limit and exterminate the prevalence of homelessness in the parramatta LGA. Support programs such as Mission Australia and Uniting Men2home are resources that help individuals who are over the age of 25 experiencing primary and secondary homelessness. Although, “the untold reality is that it is extremely difficult to become a priority, especially with the large number of homeless people in Parramatta,” Elizabeth pleads. 

Georgie, 18, is a university student that travels to Parramatta station three days a week for university. Whilst there, she travels through the station, filled with people searching for their path. After the people pass she encounters the same two homeless individuals. Georgie describes her encounters at Parramatta Station as “confronting and sad. It makes me feel disheartened and very upset, that they were out in the cold sleeping whilst I got to go home to bed. It really makes you question your privilege and reflect upon the struggles these people have to face daily, with a chance of no positive result in the future for them”. When Georgie accounts her experiences with these people, stating that “governments and organisations should realise this issue and allocate more funding to this issue in order to help minimise homelessness around Parramatta and surrounding areas”.

Primary and secondary homelessness in the Parramatta LGA has shown major fluctuation with the increased fluctuation of the cost of living. Parramatta council has a significant role in the prevention of homelessness in Parramatta City and the management of public spaces, with the acts of conducting homelessness street headcounts within the Parramatta LGA to identify areas that are in need of more support . The council has various roles in addressing and supplying funding, service deliveries, and partnerships with non-government organisations that aid primary and secondary homeless individuals. 

With the rising index of secondary homelessness in Parramatta, the ‘Emergency relief’ is a program supported by the council, which helps individuals who are experiencing hardship, and financial distress, and who have limited resources. The program provides free food and material aid to homeless individuals who have limited access to resources needed to conduct a healthy, functioning life. This program is offered to individuals every week, with different services including, financial assistance, food vouchers, furniture, and food supply. With these programs provided by organisations, they can be overwhelmed. Due to the large progression of primary and secondary homelessness in Parramatta, the resources are “limited with availability,” as priority tiers apply to accommodating services to individuals, Elizabeth says.                       

An individual who has experienced both primary and secondary homelessness stated that “At times, there were situations and conversations I have had where nobody could help me. This individual resided within Parramatta station for one week in 2022, following the outburst of Covid19. They strictly relied on the programs provided by the Parramatta council to have a roof over their head. “I experienced primary homelessness in Parramatta Station for one week, it was nothing short of brutal and suffocating”. 

Parramatta Square.  Photograph  Bianca Tropiano

Parramatta City Council is one of the main responding resources for homeless individuals, as they have expanded their compliance with many organisations that help combat homelessness on a large scale. A representative from Parramatta City council, contributes that “Cost of living, lack of affordable housing and other factors have had a significant impact on individuals and families in our community and across NSW”.

As Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis, Parramatta City Council believe that they are responsible for implementing “policies in place, such as the Affordable Housing Action Plan and Affordable Rental Housing Policy”.  The aim for this action plan is that the programs help combat the increase and fluctuation of primary and secondary homeless people in the Parramatta LGA. The representative states that the “council’s Homelessness Policy has identified diverse strategies involving all levels of government and other stakeholders to address this complex issue”. Lizzie states that “actions speak louder than words, and with the lack of change and access to these resources, there is no hope for change”.

In conjunction with the council’s statement, the abundance of homelessness in Parramatta is well known, although “we lack the facilities and support workers to combat the large population that is enduring homelessness,” Elizabeth states. As even with the support provided by Parramatta City council and other programs such as Uniting men to home and Mission Australia, homeless individuals like Lizzie and Elizabeth are still struggling to break through the hardship of homelessness. “I am aware they have specific programs for under 25 year olds, but what about women and men who are over the age of 50, we are in need of the same support,” Lizzie pleads. “We need more availability and care for homeless people in Parramatta, especially as the cost of living is rising”.

Ultimately, the reality is that “Federal governments need to supply more funding and services to help the lives of homeless people,” says Lizzie. There is a demand for more support workers, assistance, housing, and materials for these individuals. Homelessness will always be a prominent figure within society, but within communities in NSW we need to unite and combat the harsh reality that homeless individuals are being left behind. Change must happen, availability must be open, and we must validate the realities that people are barely surviving.

— BIANCA TROPIANO