Welfare groups fear a further flood of people needing urgent help when JobSeeker recipients have their payments cut by $100 a fortnight from today.
The coronavirus supplement has dropped from $250 a fortnight to $150, meaning some people will be forced to live off less than $360 a week.
Welfare organisation Coast Hands, which provides assistance to the homeless and people in need across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, the Central Coast and Sydney, has experienced unprecedented demand since around the time of the last JobSeeker cut in September.
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"Once the changes came about and they took away the extra coin, we saw a massive increase in the amount of people needing assistance," Coast Hands founder Micah Weekes said.
"We have local restaurants supply frozen meals with stuff donated from businesses. In three and a half months we did 2050 meals. We usually sit at around 200-300 a month.
"A lot of these guys would never have sought assistance. A lot of people are almost embarrassed. They say 'can you come in an unmarked car and leave it on the verandah'.
"These are very proud people who have made their own way and now they can't. It's not just the reduction in money, it's their mental health too.
"People are losing their homes. Last year I went to two people sleeping in their cars. In December I've gone to five.
"A lot of people are losing jobs, or they've been cut back on hours. They've got to cut something to keep the house or keep electricity on, and in a lot cases they will cut food.
"The need is just massive, I'm not sure how we're going to keep up. It's going to get much worse."
Mr Weekes said the issue was wider than just the financial supplement. He said many disadvantaged people found it difficult to jump through the hoops necessary to obtain the payment.
"People are falling through the cracks," he said. "We're offering a service through our grassroots organisation that the government isn't offering."
The coronavirus supplement is set to finish entirely in March, putting some Centrelink recipients back to $40 per day. St Vincent de Paul Society believes there needs to be a permanent increase to JobSeeker.
"The supplement was welcome but it was only ever meant to be temporary and Job Seeker needs to be permanently increased," acting CEO Yolanda Saiz said. "Not just for people who've found themselves unemployed due to the pandemic but also people who were already on JobSeeker and struggling to make ends meet.
"Cutting JobSeeker back to its previous point is not conducive to helping people find work.
"It actually makes it very difficult for people to obtain the essentials like food and a home."
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