The uncertain future of a program credited with helping 1,000 homeless people into secure housing in NSW shows the "tepid" response major parties have to state's housing crisis, advocates say.
Together Home was created by the NSW government in 2020 to help rough-sleepers after they were deemed as being at high-risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funding in the last budget will allow support packages to continue until 2026 for some clients who need to stay in what is normally a two-year program for longer.
But for more than 850 people, the money will run out by the end of this year.
Community Housing Association of NSW chief Mark Degotardi says many of those people need ongoing support, and is calling for the next government to make Together Home a permanent fixture in the state's homelessness support network.
"We don't know which government we'll be talking to ... but no neither side has committed to an extension of the program," he said.
"It's been so successful, clearly, we think they should."
The association wants $25 million allocated to the program each year, which would fund 250 packages per annum.
It is also calling for an additional 200 social housing homes to be built each year for clients exiting the program who are assessed as requiring longer-term support.
The state government has so far committed to building 220 dwellings in total, which would only cover about 20 per cent of current participants.
Angus had been homeless for more than five years and lost contact with family and friends before entering the Together Home program.
"Together Home came into my life at one of the biggest forks in the road I've ever faced," he said.
"I was at the lowest point, worn down economically and emotionally."
Angus says the program has changed his life, he now has a secure home on the Central Coast and managed to reconnect with loved ones.
He said it could be a "God send" for others in desperate need of a home.
"It could be a blessing and it could alter a whole family's prospects for generations to come," Angus says.
Together Home uses a housing-first approach to provide secure homes as a first port of call.
The program lasts for two years for most clients, and connects them to other support services.
Incumbent Families and Communities Minister, Natasha Maclaren-Jones, says the government has put $177.5 million into the "nation-leading initiative" since its inception.
She said Together Home's funding was set to continue until June 2024, taking new clients through to 2026, "with further funding to be considered after the election".
"The Together Home program has been successful in achieving positive outcomes for vulnerable families across the state, and is a key program to ensure the Liberal and Nationals government meet the Premier's priority to halve street homelessness by 2025."
Mr Degotardi said Together Home's housing-first model had been crucial to keeping people off the streets.
He said 90 per cent of people who've gone through the program have been able to sustain rental tenancies.
"We congratulate the government for doing it, but what we ask is for them to keep doing it.
"Because the homelessness situation has not improved with the rental vacancies and everything that has happened in the external environment. So people still need help."
Mr Degotardi called for the next leaders of the state to "show some courage" and make the tough decisions when it comes to funding for social housing.
"Despite the absolute crisis nature of what's happened I the housing market since the pandemic, the response from both parties has been pretty tepid," he said.
"The problems can be solved; this is the frustrating part."
Opposition spokesperson for housing and homelessness, Rose Jackson, acknowledged the success of Together Home and said Labor would introduce longer-term five-year funding arrangements for key housing services.
"Labor is committed to the housing first model of addressing homelessness, which underpins the Together Home program," she said.
"We recognise this approach to resolving homelessness is based on international best practice and has shown to be most effective way to ensure experiences of homelessness are brief and not repeated."
