THE number of homeless people sleeping rough in Sutherland Shire is rising.
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And rough sleeping within the National Park also remains a concern, a report to the Sutherland Shire's community and strategy committee says.
Three community organisations, Shire Community Services, Southern Community Welfare and Partners in Recovery work to help the homeless.
"The ever-increasing cost of living and difficulties in accessing mental health services are likely contributors to the level of primary homelessness within the shire increasing," the report says.
"Affordable housing options for homeless people within the shire are extremely limited.
"All local caravan parks report increasing numbers of permanent residents.
"Boarding houses in the region largely operate at capacity."
There are no supported boarding house facilities in the shire and rough sleepers with mental health concerns must now be referred to Arncliffe.
Homelessness NSW chief executive Gary Moore confirmed the increasing number of people who are sleeping rough in the shire.
"There would appear to be more rough sleepers in the [Royal] National Park; we are talking about 30 to 40 people," he said.
Actual numbers sleeping out are hard to confirm.
The latest figures from 2011 show 136 homeless in the Cronulla to Caringbah area, and 191 in the Sutherland to Menai area.
Of these, rough sleepers made up just 7 per cent.
"The biggest group of homeless people in the Sutherland Shire are people called 'couch surfers' — those staying in other households, or living in severely crowded households," Mr Moore said.
There are some small-scale boarding house-style accommodation options but significant gaps in infrastructure and funding exist.
There is crisis accommodation for men available in the shire and the nearest support boarding house is at Arncliffe.
Supported accommodation for homeless people with mental health problems is not available in the shire, and supported boarding houses often met with strong resistance, the report says.
Do you think homelessness is a problem in Sutherland Shire and if so where?
