The Department of Communities and Justice will join with homelessness services to conduct a street count of people sleeping rough in around 300 locations across the state.
Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services, Gareth Ward said that in a NSW first, staff from the Department were working with homelessness services, community housing providers and local councils to undertake the counts.
“Our Government has committed to halving street sleeping by 2025 and this street count is an important step as we work towards this ambitious target,” Mr Ward said.
“We are putting together the most complete and up-to-date picture possible of the number of people sleeping rough and where we can have the greatest impact,” he said.
“These street counts will help foster local collaboration to end street sleeping and inform local approaches to prevention, housing options and post-crisis support.”
Mr Ward said the first phase of street counts this month would provide data for most of the State, with a second count to take place in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern NSW in April.
He said NSW was part of a global movement to end street sleeping, with the Premier signing the Act to End Street Sleeping Agreement in February 2019 with the Institute of Global Homelessness, the City of Sydney and several non-government organisations.
