Nicky Sloan (left) and Kelly McGarrity (right) discussing homelessness during the Community Matters podcast. Photo: Supplied.
As homelessness rises across the Illawarra, local services are rethinking what support looks like — including making room for people’s pets, not just their possessions.
With thousands waiting for housing and more people sleeping in cars, Wollongong Homeless Hub and Housing Services is implementing practical, compassionate solutions to meet people where they are.
Wollongong Homeless Hub and Housing Services (WHHHS) housing services manager Kelly McGarrity said of the 68,700 people on social housing waitlists across the state, more than 3000 were waiting in the Wollongong-Shellharbour area alone.
Kelly said the Illawarra now ranked fourth highest in the state for demand in homelessness services.
She said to combat this, they were finding creative ways to respond and to meet people where they were.
Fresh from receiving a 2025 Community Services Award for Leadership, she spoke with Community Matters podcast host and Community Industry Group CEO Nicky Sloan about the changing face of homelessness in the region.
“We are seeing more people than ever presenting at our services that are telling us that they are sleeping in their cars and in unsafe accommodation,” Kelly said on the podcast.
“We’re seeing people with pets at higher numbers.”
Kelly said when her team noticed demand from people with pets had more than doubled in just 12 months, they decided an innovative solution was providing more pet-friendly accommodation.
“We know that people have such strong connections to their pets,” she said.
“When they’ve lost everything and they’re in such despair, their pets really help them through.
“We need to make sure we are able to deliver services for people that have pets.”
She said for many experiencing homelessness, the fear of losing a beloved companion could mean staying in unsafe situations longer than they should.
“It’s remaining in those situations around violence, but it’s also sleeping in open spaces in the community,” she said.
“We hear from people that they’re sleeping in parklands, they’re sleeping in tents in sheltered areas and that’s increasing.
“Primarily, when somebody has a pet and they’re in those unsafe places, there’s not a lot of options.”
Kelly said the private rental market was already experiencing high demand and high prices, and having a pet added another layer of complexity.
She said homelessness was increasingly affecting Australians over 55 and working people who simply couldn’t find affordable housing.
To help, WHHHS provides a range of services for people at risk or experiencing homelessness with or without pets, with case management programs around early intervention, tenancy support through to crisis accommodation and a Fairy Meadow drop-in hub.
Kelly said people could provide support by volunteering and donating to business partners such as Woolworths with food and hygiene products.
“We know that we’re in an economic crisis, and any financial donations are much appreciated,” she said.
“But there’s those small things, like volunteering your time to help in our pantry, that make huge differences. It’s the centralised location where we send out all of our food supplies to our different services.
“It’s great having volunteers in that space to pack those orders, to get them out to the sites that really need them.”
If you need support, access WHHHS’s services online, visit The Hub at 40 Princes Highway, Fairy Meadow or the WHHHS Mobile Outreach Van is available Thursday evenings from 4:30 to 7 pm at Wollongong Station (near The Lighthouse Church).
