Suman Lahiry has lived on Fowler Street, Hamilton South for five years and he said barely a day goes past when police intervention wasn't needed.
"I have felt unsafe several times and it has impacted my mental and physical health," Mr Lahiry said.
'We are facing everyday violence, like fire incidents and property damage," he said.
Mr Lahiry joined other members of the Hamilton South Tenants Alliance who met with Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp, representatives from Homes NSW and NSW Police on May 21 to discuss their concerns in the suburb's social housing estate.
The community group is a growing grassroots organisation aimed to bring together people with lived experience of public housing, and is supported by the Hunter Community Alliance.
Last year, the state government announced $450,000 in funding over three years to fund a tenant-led renewal in Hamilton South, with part of those funds going towards establishing the tenants' alliance.
Following recent listening sessions the group had singled out safety, maintenance and community infrastructure as their top priorities.
Mr Lahiry first moved to Newcastle from Bangladesh 13 years ago and moved into his Hamilton South residence five years ago.
As well as being concerned about daily violence, he said slack maintenance and repairs were an issue.
"My unit had a lot of issues with sewage overflow and leaking of the roof," he said.
He said two of his neighbours had a "never-ending issue" with mould.
"Sometimes maintenance is so slow that it's extremely frustrating, we're waiting for years to solve a normal issue which should be achievable," he said.
As part of his involvement in the alliance, he said, many community members had said that they were worried about their physical and mental health with ongoing maintenance issues.
Mr Lahiry said he was looking forward to building a stronger group to advocate for his community.
"We residents are getting organised to fight for a better Hamilton South and people here do look out for each other and have a strong sense of community," he said.
"I'm very proud that as a community we are fighting for the same cause."
Alliance community organiser and former Hamilton South resident Shaylie Pryer said Thursday's listening session and walking tour would allow the government representatives to hear lived experiences.
"We know that issues have been going on for way too long and now we're looking at what is the first step to be able create change," she said.
"We can't just address one issue in isolation, there needs to be a multi-disciplinary approach, and police, and Homes NSW need to work together."
Ms Pryer said a big issue was closed shop fronts and lack of space for residents to socially connect.
Resident Lucy Donoghue has lived in the Hamilton South estate for 14 years and she felt it would be great if there was cafe in the community.
"There is nowhere to meet up and social isolation and loneliness is a big problem," she said.
"The infrastructure doesn't give us an outlet to meet and connect."
Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp said the government funding for the alliance was to help improve communication between the community and the state government agencies.
"This is a very forward-looking project to make life better for this community," he said.
He said as part of the government's $6.6 billion investment in social housing and homelessness services they had funded maintenance throughout the state.
Last year, housing minister Rose Jackson told the Hunter Community Alliance that the state had invested $4.7 million in Newcastle, of a $1 billion budget, since July 2024 in a "maintenance blitz".
