ZACHARY needs somewhere to live.
He also needs the required identity documents to go with his house application.
The Hunter man was one of thousands seeking help at the 16th annual Hunter Homeless Connect Day.
"It's hard to ask for help, it's a bit overwhelming going to so many services, but having people walk up to you and offer support is beneficial. I do recommend confronting issues," he said.
From attaining lost birth certificates, to free health checks, vaccines, haircuts, legal support, clothing and domestic violence support, the Hunter community gathered at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Wednesday, August 21 to connect.
Hunter Homeless Connect chairperson and coordinator Michelle Faithfull said the day was all about connection.
"A lot of people don't know where to find support because they've never had to," she said.
"We have 145 services under the one roof and this allows people to see what is on offer and where they can access services."
A flu shot for Tim
Tim rolled up his sleeves at the Hunter New England Health's immunisation tent to get his free flu shot.
He says the wait for a doctor and the cost is not feasible.
"I'm grateful I can come get some help here today, it's very handy," he said.
"Everyone's struggling in some way, there's people living on the street. So it's helpful to have something like this to go to."
Hunter New England population health immunisation team, clinical lead Sharon Saxby said the team was administrating flu shots, Covid vaccines, adolescent school vaccines and other adult vaccines on the day.
"We're offering free vaccines to people who are unable to access them through their GP or any other services, we do find that people are finding a real difficulty because doctors are not all bulk billing," she said.
Ms Saxby said getting to the doctors can be difficult for some people and there weren't a lot of free services around for vaccinations.
"The average cost is $25 for a flu shot but even vaccinations that are free, doctors will charge a consultation fee. Pharmacies vaccinate as well but not every pharmacy does it," she said.
She said it was important as a service to be on the front-line and seeing what the demand is.
"It's good for us to be here and talking with people that are accessing services, to really understand what the need is," she said.
"If we understand the need we can help connect people with services."
A haircut for Lester
Over at the TAFE NSW exhibit there was a trail of people lined up waiting for a fresh cut from hairdressing students.
Sitting in the chair with a big grin on his face was Lester McDonaid who was saving $45 on getting his locks tamed.
"They do such a good job and it's great that we can come down here and get a free hair cut," he said.
Meanwhile, Cathie was also saving her bucks.
"It can be very expensive and I've got very curly hair," she said.
"This is a valuable service and [Hunter Homeless Connect is] a valuable thing that goes on every year."
Record crowds seeking help
Last year, 3000 people attended Hunter Homeless Connect Day and Ms Faithfull was expecting to exceed that number.
"Cost of living is not going anywhere and this event is growing every year," she said.
"You need to be here to see it [the demand], because you can't explain it."
An event survey in 2023 revealed a four per cent increase in people under 25 years-old attending the event and a six per cent increase in people reporting not having a safe place to stay for the night, compared to the 2022 survey.
Around seven per cent of people are experiencing homeless, sleeping rough, while the rest are couch surfing or in refuges, boarding houses and emergency accommodation.
