Hear us out
As South Australians prepare to head to the polls in 2026, we know the homelessness crisis is deepening — and that incremental change is no longer enough.
At Hutt St Centre, we’re helping clients to safely and meaningfully share their voices in the lead-up to the election.
Too often, decisions about housing, income support and essential services are made for people experiencing homelessness rather than with them.
Hutt St Centre’s ‘Hear us out’ campaign is about changing that — creating space for people to speak directly about what’s working, what isn’t, and what they want political leaders to understand.
“Privacy is what would help me the most right now. I just want a house with four walls that people can’t hear through, and a security screen door that’s not kickable – everyone should have that on their house. There’s better privacy in prison compared to where I’m living now. You can’t hear anyone else in prison, but in my own place I can hear people through every wall.” – Charlie*.
It would help if the government understood that everyone has different needs. There especially needs to be more support for people who are in the dilemma of living in a tent in the parklands. There’s not enough supply of houses, but then there’s also plenty of vacant housing – surely there could be better housing options to help people sleeping in the parklands.
I think that the government should be working to reducing how long people have to remain in homelessness. And if the crisis is a lack of accommodation, they should be building that and making sure people can access that.
The support at Hutt St Centre is pretty good. My concern is that if Hutt St Centre were to lose their government funding, and have to draw deeper on their own resources. Because at the end of the day, it’s the government that creates these situations – so the buck should stop with them.
I just want to stop being moved along to different houses. I was kicked out of my family’s house because it was being knocked down. And where I live now is going to be demolished, and I have to find a new place to live again. I’m in the tail end of my life at 71 years old, and I just want to be settled.
I want the government to know that I’m not happy about how politicians are using their entitlements to bring family interstate for costly events. That’s tax payer money from people who are struggling. There are people who can’t put food on the table and pay for bills. Even my electricity Even my electricity bills are through the roof – and politicians are using their allowances to take family to NYC, Thredbo, etc. I know it’s not breaking the rules, but it’s real world tax payer money from people who are struggling.
The government need to allocate more funding specially for mental health support for people experiencing homelessness. Police are stuck dealing with this situation on the streets, even if they’re not fully trained for it.
“What would I want the government to know about my life? Ah they’d never listen, they just push everything to the side anyway. I moved from regional SA to the city to try and reunite with my sister, and it’s been terrible trying to get help. The housing system is messed up. Ever since I’ve been living in the city it’s been hell. I’ve been broken into multiple times, there are dead birds out the front, I’m surrounded by meth use, and people start squatting in my yard. I barely sleep there, because it’s not safe. When I’ve had my pension I’ve been spending the whole lot on motel accommodation to get out of the weather. And then I’ll go on the streets for a bit, and then back to the motel when I can afford it. You’re better off being in a holding cell to get a safe roof over your head.”
A pathway to homefulness
As South Australians prepare to vote in March 2026, we face a defining moment.
Homelessness in our State has reached crisis point, and incremental change is no longer enough. Hutt St Centre is calling on both the State Government and the Opposition to show leadership and commit to real, sustained action that addresses homelessness at its core.
Homelessness is one of the clearest and most confronting markers of disadvantage and social exclusion in our community. Safe, secure housing is fundamental to dignity, health, and opportunity. Addressing homelessness is not only a social and economic imperative — it is a human rights emergency.
The 2026 State Election presents a critical opportunity for change. Not change at the margins, but real change that halts the growth of homelessness and shifts South Australia toward a future of homefulness.
Hutt St Centre is proud to present Hear us out: A pathway to homefulness, an election policy platform that sets out a practical, achievable pathway to do just that, grounded in evidence, frontline experience, and the voices of those most affected.
A snapshot of Hear us out: A pathway to homefulness priority areas:
Expanding social and affordable housing
Hutt St Centre is calling on the next State Government to fund and build more social housing stock; to use targeted incentives for landlords to rent to low-income tenants such as direct rental subsidies or tax rebates for landlords; risk mitigation guarantees or subsidised landlord insurance support for housing vulnerable tenants; and reintroduce income-based schemes to increase rental affordability.
Secure tenancies and prevent evictions
The Aspire program has saved the State Government more than $35 million in avoided services, including hospital bed nights, the criminal justice system and emergency accommodation. It has already housed more than 575 people and achieved a tenancy rate of more than 90 per cent.
Hutt St Centre would like to see consistent block funding for the Aspire Program as a proven and effective, housing-first intervention model.
The next Government needs to fund and scale other tailored homelessness support programs to help people secure housing and maintain social/community housing tenancies.
Extra emergency and short-term accommodation
Significant reform and investment is needed to expand the range of emergency accommodation and short-term accommodation options.
The next Government must address barriers to accessing emergency and short-term accommodation through a review of eligibility criteria, and to work in partnership to develop culturally-appropriate, flexible and innovative accommodation solutions for First Nation’s people travelling from remote communities into Adelaide to access services and support.
Fix system failures and gaps
It’s time to end discharge or release from government-funded services and institutions into homelessness through better cross-system service design and investments in transitional or supported accommodation.
Investment is needed to create a data roadmap, to develop a modern, unified system for all homeless services, capturing real-time data across all service types.
Adequate and secure funding for homelessness services
The next Government must provide adequate, indexed funding commensurate with service demand, increases in cost of living and other cost pressures.
Hutt St Centre would like to see a round of 3 + 3 + 3 years of funding secured for the Toward Home and other South Australian alliances, extending existing contracts to ensure continuity of effective partnerships.
For more enquires, please contact us at media@huttstcentre.org.au
*Name and image changed out of respect to the privacy of the person who has given permission for Hutt St Centre to share their feedback, with the aim of being heard by our government and politicians.