Taking place in Woolloomooloo, the pop-up is operating on specific nights during the next two weeks to offer rough sleepers immediate temporary accommodation and encourage them to apply for public housing.
Minister for Family and Community Services and Social Housing Brad Hazzard joined staff from Family and Community Services (FACS) housing offices and the 24/7 housing service Link2home as they worked with rough sleepers. Staff helped with immediate temporary accommodation, applying for public housing, checking on any problems with existing applications for housing and linking the rough sleepers with support services.
On the pop-up’s first night 35 people sleeping rough or staying in a shelter were assisted. Eighteen of those were given immediate accommodation in low cost hotels for a few nights while they work with FACS staff to find longer-term accommodation.
Thirty homeless people were helped in other ways including:
- applying for the first time for public housing
- reactivating an application that had been dormant because the person had been out of contact for some time
- linked with support services to provide more intense support to find accommodation.
If the trial is successful it will roll out to other locations throughout Sydney.
