When demand for homelessness services hits record levels, what does innovation look like to respond to the challenge?

With 68,700 people on social housing waitlists across the state and over 3,000 waiting in the Wollongong-Shellharbour area alone, the homelessness crisis can feel overwhelming. But Kelly McGarrity, Housing Services Manager at Wollongong Homeless Hub and Housing Services (WHHHS), is finding creative ways to respond and to meet people where they are.

Fresh from receiving a Community Services Award for Leadership, Kelly joins host Nicky to discuss 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 reveals.

One surprising innovation? Pet-friendly accommodation. When Kelly's team noticed demand from people with pets had more than doubled in just 12 months, they took action. "We know that people have such strong connections to their pets… their pets really help them through," Kelly explains. For many experiencing homelessness, the fear of losing a beloved animal companion can mean staying in unsafe situations far longer than they should.

The conversation also explores an uncomfortable truth: homelessness increasingly affects older Australians and working people who simply can't find affordable housing. Kelly walks through the range of services WHHHS provides, from case management and tenancy support to crisis accommodation and their drop-in hub, while celebrating the amazing frontline staff who are “at the coalface everyday."

Want to help? Kelly outlines practical ways the community can get involved, from volunteering and donations to business partnerships. You can even contribute through Woolworths stores around Wollongong to provide food and hygiene products for those in need.

Links and Resources:

• Wollongong Homeless Hub: Wollongong Homeless Hub | Home
• AIHW Data on Homelessness: Homelessness and homelessness services - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
• Homelessness NSW (data, information and resources): Homelessness NSW

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

More than 1 in 10 Australians live with asthma—that's 2.8 million people. In the Illawarra alone, over 250 people are hospitalized each year, impacting not just those with the condition but their families and communities. 

In this informative episode of Community Matters, Nicky talks with Alexander Brown, Asthma Program Coordinator with Healthy Cities Australia, about a partnership that's working to change these numbers. Breathe Better Illawarra brings together Healthy Cities Australia and Asthma Australia to build an "Asthma Smart Community" - moving beyond reactive management to prevention..

Since July 2024, the program has been working with schools, families, and the broader community, with a particular focus on children. In partnership with the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District's Community Asthma Education Service, they're running self-management workshops that help people move beyond reactive treatment to understand and prevent asthma flare-ups before they happen.

Alexander shares practical information about free resources including Asthma Australia's free first aid course and 1800 helpline, and dives into a critical but often overlooked issue: indoor air quality. With over 12% of Australia's asthma burden linked to indoor gas appliances, transitioning to electric alternatives or improving ventilation with rangehoods will significantly reduce flare-ups for those in homes still using gas for heating and cooking.

The conversation also explores housing standards, particularly for renters. Alexander discusses Victoria's new requirements for landlords to electrify appliances at end-of-life replacement, and his advocacy through the NSW parliamentary inquiry into indoor air quality and updates to Wollongong City Council's Development Control Plan to bring these standards to the Illawarra and beyond. 

Discover how your community can breathe easier on this educational episode of Community Matters.

Links and Resources:

·         Healthy Cities Australia Breathe Better Website – get in touch with Alexander and find out about asthma courses and events - Breathe Better Illawarra | Healthy Cities Australia 

·         Asthma Australia First Aid course (a great course for anyone who works with children) - Asthma First Aid Instructions by Asthma Australia

·         1800 Asthma – book a call with an asthma educator for advice - Book Asthma Support with 1800 Asthma Call Service

·         Find out more and contribute to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into indoor air quality - Clean indoor air

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The 2024 Closing the Gap report revealed a stark truth: 47% of the health gap for Aboriginal people, including life expectancy rates, is related to institutional racism, interpersonal racism, and intergenerational trauma. These findings make one thing clear: cultural safety isn't optional.

But what does cultural safety actually mean for community service organisations, and how do we achieve it?

In this episode, Nicky sits down with Becky Garrett, Operations Manager at SAHSSI and recent recipient of the 2025 Innovation Community Service Award for her work on cultural safety. Becky shares the transformative work happening at her organization and the lessons every service provider needs to hear.

Key insights include:

• Cultural safety as lived experience – It's about the subjective experience of Aboriginal staff and clients, not just checkboxes on a form.
• Moving beyond the RAP – Despite having a Reconciliation Action Plan, SAHSSI knew something more was needed. Their cultural audit revealed critical gaps and sparked organization-wide buy-in.
• Walking the talk – SAHSSI created two dedicated Cultural Lead positions on Dharawal and Yuin Countries, properly remunerating staff for cultural work rather than expecting it on top of regular duties.
• The power of listening – As Becky says: "To really understand the impact of colonisation, you have to sit and listen really carefully".

Despite not being an Aboriginal Controlled Organisation, SAHSSI took ownership: "These are our clients. We have to get this right."

This conversation is essential listening for any leader ready to move from good intentions to genuine change.

Links and Resources:

• SAHSSI website: SAHSSI | Home
• Closing the Gap Report: Closing the Gap
• The National Anti Racism Framework: The National Anti-Racism Framework Full Report 2024
• Community Service Awards: Community Services Awards 2025 — Community Industry Group
• Information about Reconciliation Action Plans: Reconciliation Action Plans - Reconciliation Australia

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In a terrible indictment on disability inclusion in leadership and governance roles, across Australia's 300 largest companies, not a single director openly identifies as living with disability. Zero. And it's been that way for years. In this powerful episode of Community Matters, host Nicky Sloan sits down with Krystal Tritton, CEO of disability provider roundsquared, who describes this as “a horrible statistic, that has gone unchecked for so long”. 

As a busy executive who is totally blind Krystal brings a critically important perspective of lived experience to this significant issue of representation. Krystal and Nicky unpack why disability representation is unseen or non-existent at the highest levels of Australian leadership, and just what that is costing us all. 

The employment gap tells the story with only 53% of people with disability employed compared to 82% without.  This is a chasm that hasn't budged significantly in two decades, despite billions in government funding. The issue isn't ability; it's a society that frames disability through a lens of inability rather than possibility. 

“Our disability isn’t our identity. It’s part of us but it’s not who we are” explains Krystal. Having worked in the sector for 23 years, she explains that while the community sector is making inroads to disability representation at leadership levels, this is not happening in the corporate sector. “I would like to see people sitting at the board of Macquarie Bank, Coles, Woolies, Myers” she says as she explains how these companies are missing out on the representation of a huge cross section of their customer base. 

The ripple effects are profound. When a member of their advocacy group told Krystal, "Because you're a CEO, I see that I could be too," it clarified the power of representation. But that's exactly what's missing from Australia's ASX 300 boardrooms, leading to retailers designing inaccessible stores or tech companies designing solutions that don't work for everyone. 

Krystal's call to action is clear: set standards for employers for disability representation and inclusion with real jobs at real wages, embed a standard of experiential disability education as part of every higher education course engaging and paying people with disability to deliver, ask people with disability what they need and actually listen, and partner and recognise organisations doing it right. 

This conversation will challenge everything you thought you knew about disability and leadership. Australia’s boardrooms are missing out and it’s time they caught up.

Links and Resources:

·         2025 AICD Board Diversity Index

·         roundsquared website

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What does it mean to truly live, even when facing a life-altering diagnosis?

This life affirming conversation with Wollongong lawyer, board director, mentor and well-known community connector Graham Lancaster cuts to the heart of the value of civic engagement.  Graham was recently recognised with the Medal for the Order of Australia for his service to the law, and to the Illawarra community.

Nicky explores with Graham how his involvement in voluntary activities including the Apex club as a young man set him on a journey of helping others throughout his life.  Graham says that he lives by The Golden Rule - treating others as you would want to be treated by them, and explains that “when you help people, people will help you.”

Graham talks about the recent life changing experience of receiving a diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Motor Neurone Disease and how he has focused on taking charge of his situation as best he can, tapping in to knowledge and lived experience of others to research and understand his condition and make lifestyle changes to support his best chances, slow progression of the condition, maximise his life span, function and quality of life.  

Graham explains his philosophy and mindset saying, “The way you think will govern every action in your day and if you think positively and you are doing things A) with a purpose and B) for others, that is going to keep you healthy, keep you living, keep you happy”.

Graham talks about the importance, despite devoting so much of his time to others of also making time for himself to recharge.  Graham talks about his love of poetry and how this creative expressive activity has also helped him to cope with life’s challenges.

Graham’s sense of humour, warmth and humanity shines through in this meaningful and hopeful conversation that demonstrates how we are all part of community and how the things we do make an impact on others.

Links and Resources: 

·         Illawarra Mercury Article - Wollongong lawyer Graham Lancaster's career of giving back honoured with AM | Illawarra Mercury | Wollongong, NSW

·         About MND - What is motor neurone disease (MND)?

·         Yerbury Lab - Yerbury Lab

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In this essential episode of Community Matters, Nicky speaks with Alison Oyston, Manager of Illawarra Advocacy, about why the last 12 months have been "one of the most difficult in recent history" for people with disability. 

"There's a lot of danger inherent in the circumstances we are seeing at the moment, and we are really screaming risk from the rooftops at our organisation - people with disability are suffering." 

A perfect storm is brewing: housing crisis, cost-of-living pressures, reduced sector capacity, and ever-shifting NDIS goalposts. New restrictive NDIS rules are reducing funding flexibility, while "funding periods" drip-feed supports, leaving participants at risk of running out of funds for essential care. 

The statistics are startling: the NDIA has spent over $60 million on lawyers in 12 months to defend decisions through the Administrative Review Tribunal - yet over 70% of cases are decided in favour of participants. Meanwhile, Illawarra Advocacy is supporting people 77% above their funded target, with no increase in resources. 

"Are we not better served re-examining where we are investing our money?" Alison asks. 

The consequences are real and devastating. Alison references the recent death of a person with disability due to inadequate plan funding, highlighting the life-and-death stakes of funding decisions. 

This episode is essential listening for people with disability, families, providers, and anyone who cares about disability rights.

Links and Resources:

• Illawarra Advocacy - https://illawarraadvocacy.org.au
• Administrative Review Tribunal - Homepage | Administrative Review Tribunal

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What happens when 200 hectares of industrial land becomes available for transformation? For Wollongong, it represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the region's future while honoring its past.

In this compelling episode of Community Matters, Nicky sits down with Michael Yiend, Head of Property Development at BlueScope, to explore an ambitious project that will create an estimated 20,000 jobs and fundamentally change how the community connects with this significant landholding.

Michael explains how changes in steel-making technology have made this transformation possible, creating an unprecedented opportunity to diversify Wollongong's economy while maintaining the region's industrial heritage. 

The release of BlueScope's non-operational land as a Special Enterprise Zone opens exciting possibilities—from manufacturing and logistics to public spaces accessible to everyone. But this isn't just about economic development. Michael reveals how the project is built on four essential pillars: connecting industries, communities, country, and ecology.

Discover how BlueScope is committed to working with traditional owners to ensure First Nations voices help shape the master plan, and how "amazing pockets of ecology" will be protected and enhanced rather than sacrificed to development. Learn about plans for cycling paths, pedestrian access, and multi-modal transport options that will increase permeability throughout the area, allowing the community to enjoy and move through this transformed space.

From preserving heritage buildings like “Lindenfels”, the old general manager's house with deep regional history, to partnering with Dutch experts Bjarke Ingels on the master plan, this project demonstrates how industrial evolution can create wins for both business and community.

Michael emphasizes BlueScope's fundamental connection to Wollongong: "Unless we are aligned with the community, our steel-making business just does not operate the way it needs to."  This philosophy drives ongoing community engagement and ensures local voices will shape the development.

As Nicky perfectly summarizes: "Good for Community and Good for BlueScope."

• Want to learn more or contribute your ideas? Visit www.bluescopelandtransformation.com.au 

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

With over 13,000 young people in NSW alone without a secure place to sleep tonight, it’s time we talked about youth homelessness and the critical lack of housing security for young people across our region.  Nicky unpacks this issue with Kristy Puckeridge, Manager at Southern Youth and Family Services (SYFS) on this vital episode of Community Matters.

Kristy speaks to the range of issues that impact on housing security for Australian youth with lack of affordable housing options and poverty at the top of the list combined with influences of drug and alcohol, domestic violence, mental health and unstable, erratic and low paying jobs.  

Accommodation support services provided by SYFS are explored including crisis accommodation, transitional housing and other options.  With over 5,500 young people supported by SYFS last year across their programs it is clear they are doing a lot of great work however 42% of young people seeking accommodation supports were “turned away”, a statistic that Kristy and the team would love to reduce.  However, this is indicative of the demand outstripping housing supply options.  

Kristy and Nicky discuss the “bottleneck” that occurs when young people are stabilised in crisis accommodation supports, only to have nowhere to go next due to the absolute unavailability of rental housing across the state and the lack of longer-term social housing options.  

Current income support levels mean that young people relying on this income are living well below the poverty line in those situations and rental options are literally non-existent meaning that young people cannot survive without additional supports.

Kristy describes programs that SYFS offers like “Rent It Keep It” which is helping young people to understand their obligations as tenants and the role that real estate agents can play working in partnership with organisations like SYFS to ensure that young people can maintain tenancies.

Kristy speaks to the resilience and capacity of young people she has worked with who inspire her every day to do the work she does and the transformative role she has played in seeing young people achieve stability and security.

Resources:

· Southern Youth and Family Services - https://www.syfs.org.au/

· “Rent It Keep It” program - https://www.syfs.org.au/programs/rent-it-keep-it

·  Find a Specialist Homelessness Service - https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/social-affordable/emergency-housing/find-a-specialist-homelessness-service

Are you, or someone you know, homeless or at risk of homelessness?

Call:

• Link2Home - 1800 152 152
• Child Protection Helpline - 132 111
• The Domestic Violence Line - 1800 65 64 63

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

With 32% of Australia’s population born overseas Australia is truly a nation of immigrants with a strong and diverse multicultural identity.  On this episode Nicky speaks with Allyson Pazos, Manager for Youth and Refugee Services at MCCI (Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra) about the important work they are doing in community supporting former refugees and new migrants to the region.

Nicky and Allyson discuss the challenges for new settlers from refugee backgrounds and the fact that former refugees may experience “low social capital” meaning that they require focused support to understand the systems, make connections and settle into community.  Connecting to clubs, schools, meeting neighbours and learning the lingo, all things that are important to create a sense of social connectedness.  Empathy is important and while Allyson says that “People do feel welcome and privileged to be here” she also asks us to imagine “how would I feel” entering a new environment if you were displaced from your own home and culture.

During the conversation Allyson covers challenges including digital literacy, something that is incredibly difficult to navigate but is such an important part of life for every Australian these days, and how digital literacy barriers create all sorts of barriers in other areas of life for a refugee settling in Australia.

Allyson explains that there are systemic barriers to the recognition of skills and qualifications of immigrants.  With over 600,000 immigrants in Australia working in jobs for which they are over-qualified this means that Australia is not effectively capitalising on the capacity of immigrants to Australia.  Allyson encourages employers to “be bold” and invites employers to provide opportunity to former refugees to take on a job in their company.

Allyson makes the invitation to reassess some so called “barriers” people see in refugees and consider them as strengths.  For example, being able to speak another language indicates a phenomenal communication skill that can be deployed by a forward-thinking employer.

Housing is an area of significant challenge for all Australians including refugees and new immigrants who may not have references or be able to navigate the digital divide that makes finding a rental property challenging.

Allyson and Nicky also tackle some of the concerning rhetoric about refugees that exists in some parts of the public domain (e.g. “queue jumpers") and tackles these incorrect and negative myths and stereotypes.

Allyson calls out the importance of a welcoming civic society and organisations like surf lifesaving and sporting clubs in the role of welcoming people and  enabling them to be a part of the community.  

“That cross cultural interaction to me, that’s when the magic happens” says Allyson as she reflects on some of the settlement initiatives she has been involved with in the Illawarra.

Resources:

·         About MCCI Settlement Services - https://www.mcci.org.au/settlement_refugees/our-services/

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide that may be upsetting or triggering for some listeners. Resources and support are available and listed at the bottom of the show notes below.  

In this episode of Community Matters Nicky talks with Lachlan Stevens, Director Founder and Veteran, about the importance of “a sense of purpose” and the work he is doing to support veterans transition out of military life and into fulfilling opportunities after serving their country.  With 78 veterans each year taking their life in Australia – this is literally lifesaving work.

Having served Australia on two tours in Afghanistan Lachlan acknowledges both the loss of members of his own units in the line of duty and the trauma of losing even more upon returning home to suicide. Lachlan shares about the mental health challenges he experienced, and the need for better coordinated veteran support across the community as well as the value of mentors in the community who support veterans to make a successful transition.

Lachlan details his work with Walk with us Kokoda and how he uses the Kokoda Trail to help veterans consider what their future looks like on the other side of their military service. “There is this projection that we care for veterans but that is not manifesting in terms of action and that is where I get a lot of my motivation for doing what we do at a grass roots level, at a community level” explains Lachlan, “that is what Walk with Us Kokoda tries to achieve.”

Lachlan and Nicky also discuss employment opportunities for veterans and leveraging qualities of loyalty and service to create the sense of purpose that is needed to support veterans through valued roles.  The opportunity for making your organisation “veteran friendly” is explored.  

Lachlan provides words of encouragement gained through lived experience “Passion is infectious”, he says, in acknowledging members of the Illawarra community, like local legend Graham Lancaster, who have supported him on his journey.

Resources:

• Walk with us Kokoda - Walk With Us Kokoda
• Raising the Bar Foundation - Raising the Bar Foundation
• The Man Walk - About The Man Walk - Where The Journey Started
• His Boy Elroy – His Boy Elroy – N.B. Free coffee and cake for veterans Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturday gym program + Bar Stool Brothers Mens Mental Health Barstool Brothers – His Boy Elroy

Veteran and Mental Health Support Links:

• RSL NSW - Find Help | RSL NSW
• Open Arms - Open Arms - Veterans & Families Counselling
• Lifeline - Lifeline Australia - 13 11 14 - Crisis Support. Suicide Prevention.

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/