More women and children living in insecure housing in Wagga: Sisters Housing

She's well aware now - because she and the staff help 50 to 80 women and children every month who are at risk of becoming homeless or are currently homeless.

"The statistics around homelessness was really shocking to me, it wasn't something that I was aware of," she said.

"Now working in this space, I've become aware of what it looks like and the impact that it has, particularly on our most vulnerable women and children in the community."

The organisation supports women to find safe and stable accommodation and to empower women to be able to live safely.

Mrs Colley said the type of women who come to them for help has expanded to include more women who would not normally find themselves in insecure housing.

"We've had women present who have been served eviction notices and just can't find anywhere else to go in Wagga because there's just nothing around they can afford," she said.

"We have had young mums with babies who have presented due to a range of issues that could be mental health issues, leaving relationships, or being too young to have had a rental history."

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Wagga Women's Health Centre director Carissa Campbell said they had also witnessed a rise in women who have been served eviction notices.

"We're seeing more women who are living on a pension or a small retirement income who have lived in a place for a long time, and all of a sudden that place isn't affordable anymore," she said.

"The saddest thing is that sometimes people make a decision to stay in a home that's not safe for them because it means they have a roof over their head."

Sisters Housing provides crisis accommodation for about 12 weeks, depending on how quickly they can find somewhere safe and affordable for the client to stay.

But Mrs Colley said it's becoming harder to find that affordable place, stretching out the minimum amount of time women need to stay with the organisation.

"Then we have people coming to us that need support, and we don't have the capacity to service the need," she said.

"But I want [the community] to know that they're going to be served with compassion, kindness, integrity and respect when they do come here."

Ms Campbell said the organisation was "an absolute lifeline" for women who need secure housing.

"We just need 10 more of them, they do such a great job," she said.

"A population like Wagga needs a lot more than what we have."

For help, call Link2Home on 1800 152 152 or Accessline on 1800 800 944.

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