Final numbers for the City of Sydney’s Street count, released today, show that there are more homeless people in the City of Sydney than ever before.
Street count aims to collect up-to-date information about the number of homeless people in the local area. Over 150 volunteers, many of whom have lived experience of homelessness, assist with the count, which takes place in February and August each year.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, members of StreetCare, PIAC’s consumer advisory group on homelessness, participated in the street count, accompanying Minister Pru Goward, and sharing their first-hand experience of homelessness.
‘When you add the number to people in other forms of homelessness, such as people in temporary/crisis accommodation or in hospital beds, the Street Count indicates the highest number of people in a state of homelessness than any other Street Count conducted,’ said PIAC Senior Policy Officer, Lou Schetzer.
‘This is also the second highest results for rough sleepers of any street count conducted by the City of Sydney,’ Lou added.
‘While there has been a slight reduction in the numbers of rough sleepers since Feb 2016, the number of people sleeping rough in the City of Sydney is still scandalously high.
‘The results indicate the chronic lack of affordable, long-term stable accommodation in Sydney,’ said Lou Schetzer.