Homelessness doesn’t always happen on the street.
There are over 120,000 Australians experiencing homelessness on any given night.
Homelessness isnt always visible.
The people behind it deserve to be seen.
Homelessness Awareness Week 3rd - 9th August 2026
Children living in low socioeconomic areas are
12 times as likely to be living with overcrowding.
When most Australians think about homelessness, they picture someone sleeping rough.
But across South West Sydney, homelessness often takes a different form.
Families live in overcrowded homes because they cannot afford rent. Young people move between friends’ couches. Women escaping violence stay temporarily with relatives. Newly arrived migrants share homes well beyond safe occupancy because there are few affordable alternatives.
These experiences are known as hidden homelessness. They are less visible, but the impacts are profound—affecting health, education, employment, wellbeing and family relationships.
Everyone deserves more than a roof. Everyone deserves a safe, stable place to call home.
SeeMe.
By day its where the families gather By night it becomes someone’s bedroom
One room.
Five people.
No privacy.
No quiet place to learn.
No space to simply be a child.
A garage converted into sleeping quarters.
Dinner is packed away.
Mattresses come out.
Tomorrow morning it becomes a dining room again.
Overcrowding impacts every part of life.
Children struggle to sleep.
Parents experience ongoing stress.
Young people lose stability.
Mental health declines.
Education suffers.
Family relationships become strained.
Housing is more than shelter.
It’s the foundation for health, education, safety and belonging.
Across South West Sydney, rising rents, cost-of-living pressures and limited affordable housing are forcing more families into unsafe and overcrowded living conditions.
For many multicultural families, seeking help can also be complicated by language barriers, visa uncertainty, financial hardship or fear of stigma.
Hidden homelessness is growing.
But so is our community’s determination to respond.
If you or someone you know is experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, we’re here to help.
CORE Community Services
Understand what hidden homelessness looks like.
Help more people recognise that homelessness doesn’t always happen on the street.
Share the campaign using #SeeMe2026
Someone will sleep on a lounge room floor.
Someone will sleep in a hallway.
Someone will move to another couch.
Someone will wonder where they’ll sleep next week.
You may never see them.
But they’re there.
