Your NNC: August 2026 Newsletter
5 Minutes with Grainne
“The relationship comes first. Without trust, nothing else can happen.” As a Homeless Response Worker at Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, Grainne takes support directly to people sleeping rough across the Inner West. Her work can mean anything from providing food, warm clothing or phone credit to helping someone navigate Centrelink, access healthcare or begin a pathway towards housing. Grainne explains why simply showing up, week after week, can make a life-changing difference. Q What does a typical outreach shift look like? Outreach work happens everywhere across the Inner West. We attend locations where people have been reported as sleeping rough, whether that’s parks, bushland, car parks, outside shopfronts or tent sites. We usually work in pairs and approach people respectfully, introduce ourselves and ask if they would like support. Assertive Outreach is about meeting people where they are – physically and emotionally. We’re entering what may be someone’s home or the only place where they feel safe or in control, so it’s important to respect their space and choices. Q What does it take for someone sleeping rough to trust an outreach worker? Trust doesn’t happen overnight. For many people sleeping rough, trust has been repeatedly broken by systems, services and circumstances beyond their control. A big part of our work is simply showing up – being there when you said you would, following through on what you promised and never making promises you can’t keep. It also means continuing to check in without judgement and understanding that someone may not be ready to accept support. Sometimes an outreach worker might be the only person someone speaks to that day. The relationship comes first. Without trust, nothing else can happen. Q Is there a moment from your work that has particularly stayed with you? I was supporting a man who had been sleeping rough in his vehicle for more than a year. One day I suggested we meet for a coffee. We sat in a café and talked about the support available to him. As we were leaving, he said, “Thank you for the coffee. I feel a little bit human again.” It was such a simple thing, but being welcomed into a café, sitting down and sharing a conversation made him feel like he belonged in the community again. Homelessness can strip people of so much more than housing – it can take away dignity, connection and the feeling of being seen. Q What do you wish more people understood about homelessness in the Inner West? Homelessness isn’t always visible. Many people aren’t sleeping on footpaths – they may be living in cars, tents, parks or bushland, or temporarily staying with friends and family. Basic needs like access to showers, toilets, drinking water and safe sleep become daily challenges. We’re seeing increasing numbers of people living in vehicles because they simply can’t afford housing anymore, as well as people experiencing homelessness for the first time. They are our neighbours, workers, parents, older people and young people. Homelessness can happen to anyone. Q What does success look like in outreach work? Success is often made up of small moments. It might be someone answering the phone, attending an appointment or accepting a mobile phone so they can stay connected. It can be somebody agreeing to regular welfare checks, walking into NNC for a cup of tea or accepting support after months or even years of saying no. Success isn’t always someone moving straight into housing. Sometimes it’s simply a person feeling safe enough to let support into their life. Every phone call answered, appointment attended and act of connection is a step forward. Q What keeps you motivated to keep doing this work? The people. Because if we don’t show up, who will? Outreach work is not easy. It can be slow. There are good days where progress feels possible, and hard days where there are challenges. But we keep showing up because every person deserves to feel seen, heard and supported. One man we supported had been living in a broken-down vehicle for more than two years. Through weekly outreach visits we slowly built a relationship. Eventually he told us he was ready, and we were able to help connect him with a housing pathway and support him into his own home. |
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