Thousands of people in NSW are becoming homeless as the rental market becomes more unaffordable, but a new campaign aims to put a roof over everyone's head.
Peak body Homelessness NSW is calling on state and federal governments to inject $2 billion into the sector to house the more than 70,000 people sleeping rough across the state every night.
The plan would require a $1.179 billion contribution from the NSW government.
"Homelessness should not be accepted by political leaders or citizens in a state as prosperous and as caring as NSW," the Ending Homelessness Together report says.
Homelessness NSW chief executive Trina Jones said the crisis had worsened, especially in regional and rural areas, as people dealt with the onslaught of natural disasters from bushfires to ongoing floods.
"We know from a recent study that (homelessness) has increased by 10 per cent," she told AAP on Wednesday at the campaign launch.
"This is directly related to bushfires, floods, pandemic and the current rising cost of living squeezing families meaning they can't access housing that's affordable."
Ms Jones said she was shocked to find homeless families with children living in tents on the south coast due to a lack of options.
She called for an immediate investment of $152 million to homeless service providers as well as more funds for Indigenous-led organisations.
More than 20,000 homeless people in NSW are Indigenous.
In the long-term, Homelessness NSW is urging state and federal governments to build 5000 additional social housing dwellings yearly at a cost of $2 billion over the coming decade.
More than 50,000 people are on the state's housing wait list, with an average waiting time of 10 years.
Rachel, a woman who was homeless for many years, spoke of her alienating experience on the streets as a single mother with physical and mental health issues.
"There's thousands of people like me," she told a room of policymakers, civil society advocates and politicians.
"There have been so many people who have suffered from being homeless".
Among a raft of policy recommendations, Homelessness NSW is pushing for a social housing levy which would charge developers a fee of one per cent of total development value.
The proposal could generate up to $240 million per year, the equivalent of an additional 600 social houses a year.
The group is also calling on governments to mandate that at least 10 per cent of all new developments are social housing, starting from 2027.
The creation of a homelessness commissioner, who would keep the item on political agendas no matter who is in government, is another key recommendation.
Apart from the moral imperative to house the homeless, the business case is also strong, Homeless NSW says.
"Investment will not only improve the quality of life of thousands of people, it will inject billions into the NSW economy and significantly reduce the strain on health, justice and corrective services," the report said.
