For one Port Stephens senior, the housing crisis has forced a heartbreaking ultimatum: choose between the dignity of a roof or the necessity of a meal.
After his rent was hiked by $200 a week, the man faced an impossible choice, highlighting a surge in demand for support.
His story is just one of many experienced by Port Stephens Family and Neighbourhood Services (PSFaNS), which is operating at a staggering 147 per cent above its funded capacity.
With the state’s homelessness population surging towards 80,000, PSFaNS assistant manager Ann Fletcher said the local demand is simply “through the roof”.
Peak bodies DVNSW and Homelessness NSW are leading a major push for a 50 per cent boost to baseline funding for specialist DV and homelessness services such as PSFaNS in the 2026 state budget.
“The 50 per cent increase in funding would mean that PSFaNS has an opportunity to provide better case management with more resources,” Ms Fletcher said.
Despite the crisis, services are being met with a wall of silence from the state government.
“The numbers are extraordinary in terms of the demand,” Ms Fletcher said.
“In this year’s budget, the NSW government needs to choose to fund people’s safety and support services like ours that provide it.”
PSFaNS reports that they are supporting roughly seven times the number of clients they are actually funded to assist.
The most common request for support comes from women and children fleeing domestic violence.
In early 2025, the NSW government announced that work had started on building a new refuge in Port Stephens through the Core and Cluster funding program.
While the new refuge will support a small number of women and children fleeing domestic violence, the availability of affordable, long-term housing, including social housing and private rentals, is critical to help people transition out of crisis accommodation.
Expanding these options is also essential to respond to the relentless and significant rates of homelessness in Port Stephens.
“We can get 20 referrals a day for our homelessness and domestic violence services so we’ve got people waiting for case work and supports,” Ms Fletcher said.
“I could have 50 more case workers, however I still have no homes for these people to go to.”
PSFaNS is seeking partnerships with real estate agents to help secure affordable housing for families and individuals transitioning from crisis.
The cost-of-living squeeze is tightening across the country, with food insecurity and rising fuel prices hitting families hard.
“We’ve got a lot of people asking for food,” Ms Fletcher said.
“We’re definitely in a crisis.”
Despite the funding shortfall, Ms Fletcher credits the “tight-knit” Port Stephens community for keeping them afloat.
“People will just come to our door and donate money or vouchers,” she said.
“Our community is so generous and we’re so lucky.”
People interested in making a donation to PSFaNS can do so from their website.
