What life is like being homeless in regional NSW

"The cold," the 31-year old, from Orange in NSW, who spent two years of his life without a permanent place to live said.

"Living with the cold is f---ing horrible, especially in the middle of winter.

"I don't know how I survived, but I did. It was that cold, at points I wanted to die. I'm still here though."

But his life wasn't always this tough.

Born in Orange, Mr Bermingham's family travelled around for a decade when he was a kid.

"I got to see lots of things that other people haven't in their whole life," he said.

"I always come back here because it's my home town."

During the years he was homeless, Mr Bermingham had to take shelter wherever he could.

This ranged from the showground, to a storage shed and even the floor of a bank.

"That's the only warm place that I had to go was the bank," he said.

"I was kicked out one night because they told me they had to clean. I had to go stay at my storage shed and I was heavily drunk that night too. I was drinking red wine because it was the only thing that kept me warm. I was freezing."

When he was told he couldn't sleep in his storage shed, Mr Bermingham was at a loss of what to do.

Eventually he was able to find a place to live so that he could have a roof over his head, but this brought with it a new set of problems.

On the day of speaking to Mr Bermingham, he had just got done with a police investigation after his home was broken into. A computer and speaker were among the items stolen and it does not appear likely he'll get those items back.

"I don't get justice, just like always," he added.

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While living in Maxwell Avenue, he said was targeted with - among other things - axes.

After this final act of theft, he felt the home he was living in was no longer a place he could call 'home'.

This led him to Safe Hands, an "oasis" for some of the city's most vulnerable.

As well as providing Mr Bermingham a place to live, he is also able to pick up a hobby that once meant so much to him.

"This place has opened my artistic side again," he said.

"I fell in love with art at 15 but I hadn't done it in ages."

Although some might still class him as homeless, Mr Bermingham likes to think of himself as on a path to a better life.

"I've had people help me, amazing people who I don't even know," he said.

"I'm sick of being depressed and I just want to get better."