The worsening housing crisis across regional Australia has advocates concerned it will have long-lasting generational impacts on the children of today.
The Whitsundays in North Queensland is just one area crying out for a solution.
Like many in regional Queensland, Whitsunday Neighbourhood Centre's Rebecca Woods says families are struggling to keep a roof over their heads.
"Last year just before Christmas, we were supporting a client living in a tent and expecting a child," Ms Woods said.
"She had to bring her newborn home to a tent.
Housing groups say children make up almost half of the area's homeless community.
Worse than a nightmare
The Chugg family knows the struggle of raising children without a home.
Father of six Stephen Chugg said it was worse than a nightmare.
His family has been homeless for five years, ever since losing everything in Cyclone Debbie in March 2017.
"We walked off that [rental] property with the clothes on our backs and a car," Mr Chugg said.
As the region sweltered through a heatwave last fortnight, the Chuggs spent time in shopping centres, libraries and swimming holes to keep cool between homeschooling lessons.
The children range in age from three to 12 years of age.
The family of eight live in a caravan in the Mackay area, and move base regularly.
Marie Chugg said they had applied for thousands of rentals from Gladstone to Cairns during the past year.
"There's no housing for a large family," Ms Chugg said.
"We've literally been left with nowhere to go."
Ms Chugg said she was concerned about impacts of the situation on her children and was worried about the prospect of losing them if they did not find somewhere to live soon.
"[Child safety officials] have deemed the caravan unliveable but they can't provide us [with] anywhere to go," Ms Chugg said.
"Caravan parks won't take us because we're too big a family, and they don't cater for kids with special needs.
Tenants told to vacate
Ms Woods said average families, who had never worried about housing before, were being slapped with price increases or notices to leave.
"We are very frustrated because there are no long-term solutions in sight," Ms Woods said.
"We can't suggest where they can go to get long-term housing. We can give short-term solutions but we know that's not going to provide them with anything beyond a week."
Claudia McHenry was in the midst of launching a small business when she was told to vacate from her rental in Airlie Beach.
"To be given notice was a major shock," Ms McHenry said.
"I've been looking at properties for four weeks, been going to countless inspections, applying through various real estates.
"I check the real estate page usually three times a day."
She said it was stressful and she was trying not to think about becoming homeless.
"I've been going to inspections … and they end up cancelling [them] because someone's put in a higher bid and they get the property."
She said it was devastating that many residents were at risk of being priced out of the region.
Not-for-profit community housing provider Whitsunday Housing Company said the number of people needing assistance had increased by about 300 to 400 per cent since the pandemic.
Chief operating officer Joanne Moynihan said data collected between the company and the Bowen Neighbourhood Centre showed about 310 people were presenting homeless last year.
She said 140 of those were children.
"We have more and more people coming in who are not necessarily very low-income earners, just average mum and dad with a couple of kids … they still can't afford rent the way it's going."
Vacancy rates drastically low
Mark Beale from Ray White Whitsunday said his office received about a dozen calls each day from people desperate for a home.
"In Airlie Beach, 12 months ago there were 114 properties for sale — now there are 54.
The rental vacancy rate in the area is sitting at 0.7 per cent, and that's by no means the tightest market in the state, especially following the flooding crisis further south.
The Real Estate Industry of Queensland has said it's hard to recall a time when rates were so drastically low across the state, citing behaviour changes during the pandemic.
Ms Woods said it would be devastating to see long-time local families be driven away.
"They have their lives invested here. They work here, their kids go to school here, they have sporting teams here.
"It's not as simple as saying, 'If you want a roof over your head you should just pack up and move.'"
