Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Welcome to Unhoused Voices from the Threshold, a podcast exploring homelessness and housing in the Bega Valley Shire, New South Wales.
[00:00:20] The makers of this podcast would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the traditional custodians of the lands, waterways and airspace across the Beaker Valley in which we have made this work.
[00:00:39] My name is rani. I am 20 years old and I was without stable housing from 17 to 20 years old.
[00:00:46] We applied for everything and we just weren't successful and it's not because we had a bad rental history, it's because of the rental crisis.
[00:00:57] Hi, my name is Julie, I'm 68 years old and I was living in my car for nine years.
[00:01:05] My name is Shauna, I am 24 years old and I was homeless for roughly six months, living between my car and a motel when I was 21 years old. I'm Sean and I'm 74 years old.
[00:01:26] I'm at present living in a motel room as I can't find a suitable unit at a suitable price and just very difficult around Rimbula area and Biga Valley generally.
[00:01:44] My name is Ruth, I'm in my 60s and I experienced homelessness after the 2019, 2020 bushfires.
[00:01:54] I'm almost 17.
[00:01:56] I kind of am staying a bit all over the place at the moment, but mainly at my older sister's, but it's a bit hard there because she has three of her own kids and my younger sister also living there. I'm Jude, I'm 60 years old and I have lived without a home for five years. I now live in my van, so I call myself a nomad and without home by choice.
[00:02:30] This podcast has been produced by the Bega Valley Shire Library Service in collaboration with Sapphire Stories, a local storytelling platform. It has been made possible with funds achieved through the New South Wales Premier's Department's Social Cohesion Grant for Local Government as obtained by the Bega Valley Shire Council.
[00:02:53] Unhoused Voices from the Threshold will be seeking the voices and opinions around the issues of housing and homelessness in the Bega Valley Shire. Listening to those on the Threshold those who have found themselves homeless are on the brink of homelessness in transitional housing or unable to find stable accommodation and the factors that have contributed to their situation.
[00:03:17] The podcast has also sought the voices of those who are working to provide support and services to these people across the shire and surrounding regions, plus developers, real estate agents, local councillors and others.
[00:03:33] The aim of this podcast is to raise awareness of our local housing crisis, explore the effects that are being felt by the vulnerable in our community and what we might be able to work on together.
[00:03:55] Homelessness is a significant global issue for human societies, affecting millions worldwide and impacting individuals, communities and economies across many nations. In Australia, the current estimate of those who are homeless sits at around 122,000 and is on the increase.
[00:04:14] In 2021, there were just over 35,000 people experiencing homelessness in New South Wales. In the Bega Valley, census information tells us that there were 672 households in need of affordable housing, 55 people in crisis accommodation and 92 people marginally housed but not homeless in 2021.
[00:04:42] The new South Wales housing crisis, marked by rising costs, a shortage of homes and increasing homelessness, is a complex issue with multiple causes including insufficient housing supply and under investment in social housing.
[00:04:58] In Bega, local support services have told us this is in March 2025 that there are at least 38 young people, 77 single adults and 130 family group members currently experiencing homelessness or housing difficulties in the Shire.
[00:05:18] These numbers represent people that have reached out for help or have been referred to services. There are likely many more who find it difficult to ask for help, who are rough sleeping or, as we will see, are not aware help is available to them.
[00:05:42] Over the six episodes of this podcast, we'll be speaking with young people from 16 into their 20s, mature single women, families struggling to find affordable housing, bushfire affected households, people from our indigenous communities, single men, elderly people and those seeking housing for outside workers.
[00:06:04] We'll find out what it's like to sleep in your car, to try and cook without a kitchen, to wash your hair and clean your teeth without a bathroom to sleep or try to with fear of discovery, to live in overcrowding and to face an unsure future.
[00:06:19] We'll explore what comes after one does reach out for help. What is available for how long and how long is the wait period? How many houses are there available in the Bega Valley? Are more homes being built and by whom? Does short term rental accommodation affect long term rental accommodation? And why are rents so high? What does the future look like for our community?
[00:06:47] During each episode of Voices from the Thresholds, we get out and about in the community exploring what kinds of attitudes and awareness exist in the Bega Valley and really what homelessness looks like to them.
[00:07:05] Is there homelessness in the Beggar Valley? Oh my word, yes. Oh my word, yes. You've noticed this look.
[00:07:12] I live on acreage so I'm not often in towns and around when I think I'd probably observe it more. But my observation doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I think homelessness is something where, because you don't always see it every day, you don't necessarily know a person that's homeless. It can be really easy not to see it, but I know it's there. I've read. I've read stories of losses, local people of all ages, people with jobs, people without jobs, young people, older people, older women. It's just absolute.
[00:07:47] It's beyond a problem now is crisis.
[00:07:56] What do you think of when you think of a homeless person?
[00:08:00] Someone with belongings around them, whatever they have surrounding them, looking probably a bit dishevelled because they've been on the street and unable to get to a wash. And have you seen any homelessness in the Bega Valley?
[00:08:18] I have seen one or two people camping out. I've seen tents down the beach near Marimbula a couple of times. Obviously someone sleeping rough there. And do you have an idea of what should be done about the housing crisis at all?
[00:08:38] Nothing easy, nothing in a hurry. What. What do you think would. Would help the homelessness situation?
[00:08:46] Definitely more social housing and I don't know. This tiny housing thing was taking off. It ran into problems and I'm not quite sure that they are.
[00:09:05] Do you know if there are homeless people in the Beaker Valley? I assume so. There's people going through tough times everywhere.
[00:09:15] What does a homeless person look like, do you think?
[00:09:20] Oh, I think it'd be very hard to immediately identify a homeless person. There's so many homeless people that are either sort of staying with friends or sleeping in their cars or just getting by and presenting quite well, I imagine.
[00:09:35] How can you tell if someone is homeless?
[00:09:40] I don't think I'd be able to tell when someone's homeless. I think they'd have to tell me.
[00:09:45] What do you think could or should be done about homelessness as the housing crisis? I think, well, people need financial support and they need secure housing that's safe.
[00:09:58] People have all sorts of reasons for becoming homeless and a lot of it is bad luck, from what I understand, and people just need the opportunity to get out of that situation. What does a homeless person look like? It's really hard to tell because they're so proud usually that they don't let you know that they're homeless. They're usually quite well presented.
[00:10:27] Is there homelessness in the Bega Valley? Absolutely. There's homelessness everywhere. And you've seen evidence of this around the place? Well, yes, in terms of people that are out a lot at night and don't seem to disappear. So, yeah, probably down by the river, not sure. So how can you tell if someone is homeless?
[00:10:49] Pretty much only by asking them, I reckon, and without any kind of judgmental attitude. What do you think should be done about homelessness as a current societal problem?
[00:11:00] I think people should only be allowed to have maximum two investment homes, have a cap on them. I think that'll loosen up housing a lot. I can't see the point of having more than two investment homes other than greed, to be honest.
[00:11:20] Are there homeless people in the Bega Valley? No idea. So you haven't seen any evidence of homelessness around? No. What, in your mind does a homeless person look like?
[00:11:32] I don't want to go into stereotypes. What do you envisage when you think of a homeless person? What do they look like to you? Dishevelled. Yeah. What do you think could be done about homeless homelessness? How can we fix it? If it does exist, probably support from the church. Yeah, I reckon that take people in, you know. Do you know if you're with a church, do you know that they do that kind of thing? I have no idea. This just shouldn't be a country where you starve.
[00:12:04] Just doesn't make any sense. Yeah, we've got plenty of resources.
[00:12:13] What do you think a homeless person looks like? What's the thing? They can look like anybody.
[00:12:19] And how can you tell if someone is homeless?
[00:12:23] Not always. Often they might be hanging around a bit more than people who've got places to be. That's sort of a way that you can maybe tell that they don't have anywhere to be.
[00:12:36] Do you think there's much homelessness in the bigger valley? There's probably more than I'm aware of, I would guess, but I'm not aware of much myself. What do you think could be done about homelessness?
[00:12:48] Tricky situation.
[00:12:51] Housing, funding, emergency crisis accommodation, free camping sites, anything that people can have a place to be.
[00:13:11] But what do you think of when you think of a homeless person, a woman my age, who through quite often a marriage breakdown, has not been able to take advantage of, you know, the shared income, might have got the house in a settlement, had to pay it off and then couldn't afford to keep doing that and gets to retirement age and doesn't access the super that the partnership might have accumulated and therefore is finding herself in really dire situation.
[00:13:54] Is there homelessness in the Bega Valley that you've seen? Yes, there is.
[00:13:59] Have you seen much? A little bit. And what image, what does a homeless person look like?
[00:14:08] Someone We've looked their belongings in a trolley bag, that's about it.
[00:14:15] What do you think should be done about homelessness in the Benga Valley? They should get more support, so they should. Any idea what that might. What would be the best thing to provide emergency accommodation? Probably.
[00:14:39] Can you tell me, are there any homeless people in the Bega Valley? Absolutely. And what does a homeless person look like?
[00:14:47] A homeless person has no exact image. They are all types of people from all walks of life that for one reason or another have ended up in a situation which is either invisible to the general public, public or visible. Do you think it's a little bit invisible in the Bega Valley? Definitely. I mean we've got a huge, huge area, a lot of space, 150 beaches, lots and lots of beach tracks, lots of national park. It's a various wide open space, really beautiful and scenic, not a lot of housing, not a lot of built up cities. So it's definitely invisible. Can you tell if someone's homeless? No, no, not if you meet them in the supermarket or down the street or walking on the beach. Of course not, no.
[00:15:43] What do you think the worst thing would be if you were homeless? What's the worst thing being homeless?
[00:15:50] Basic human rights, basic human needs.
[00:15:55] Shelter, food, a sense of safe place, my own bed, warm linen, a hot shower, somewhere to wash my hair, a decent meal, a neighbour, someone to talk to.
[00:16:10] And what do you think should be done about homelessness? Everything. As much as we can do.
[00:16:17] This has been the trailer for Unhoused Voices from the thresholds. In episode one, we will be speaking with young people aged 16 to 25 about their experiences with homelessness and housing, the factors that have contributed to their situation and the kinds of assistance available to them.
[00:16:38] Please refer to the show Notes for links to homelessness and other services. If you're in need of assistance yourself or know someone who is and please follow us on your favorite podcast platform. We look forward to your company next time.
