Throughout the statewide COVID-19 lockdown, Robert* has been following the rules and staying at home — in his case a small caravan on bushland near Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales.
"Well, I'm really classed as homeless," he said.
"But it's beautiful in the trees, the green grass, and the kangaroos jumping past. I live here and it fulfils all my needs."
He said he is worried about coronavirus.
He is one of about a dozen people who sleep in tents or have caravans on Crown land at Wilks Park near the Murrumbidgee River.
Local welfare groups fear these people and hundreds of others in the Riverina Murray who do not have secure housing are being further disadvantaged during lockdown.
Senior coordinator of child and family services with Anglicare, Jasmine Woodland, said drop-in centres were closed to the public, putting the vulnerable at greater risk.
"There's limited shelter for them to get out of the weather on cold days," she said.
"The libraries are closed, the [shopping] malls are closed, the cafes are closed.
Increasing isolation
Chris* also lives at Wilks Park and is missing being able to drop into the support centres.
"When you want to go to the hub and get a bit of food now you're not allowed to go in there. However you can ring and tell them just a few basic things," he said.
Unable to secure a job, Chris normally spends most days volunteering at the local men's shed — until that too was closed for lockdown.
"It has a huge impact," he said,
"I can't contribute to society in the sense of going to the men's shed and in doing hands-on stuff.
"Just the chatting, a lot of these guys are in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, and you'll learn a lot from them."
Ms Woodland said the longer the lockdown extends the greater the impact on mental health.
Push to find accommodation
The NSW government has committed $22.3 million for temporary accommodation for people sleeping rough during the latest COVID outbreak.
Since the beginning of July, it has housed 1,080 people in shelters, motels, and hotels, 560 of them in regional areas.
But Anglicare's Jasmine Woodland is concern about what will happen after lockdown ends.
A report by the Audit Office of NSW found more than 70 per cent of the people sleeping rough who were helped with temporary accommodation between April 2020 and April 2021 left with an unknown housing outcome.
Adapting to lockdown
Local community services are balancing the need to support the vulnerable community with the need to protect staff and volunteers.
Food relief is being provided in a contactless way, with one charity Carevan providing 450 meals a week.
Carevan chairwoman Angela Flynn said they had to pivot from providing hot nighttime meals at neighbourhood hubs to supplying food to other services.
"Volunteers who are vaccinated and keen to continue working, they are in the kitchen cooking and maintaining the meals," she said.
Ms Woodland said support is available for those who are struggling.
"We've got freezers full, the pantry is full, and we're ready to go," Ms Woodland said.
"Wagga Wagga as a whole is doing well and we're well prepared, but we do have to look at this as a community and we have to be more collaborative and making sure all in our community are looked after."
* The men in this story preferred to not reveal their surnames.
