Joanne Fisher had two dozen rental applications rejected last year, despite having a stable job with the University of Wollongong for nearly 30 years.
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After a marriage breakdown the 50-year-old was left to find new accommodation for herself and her 11-year-old daughter, with no rental history, and it all seemed "impossible".
"I was being rejected for applications on one bedroom apartments for about $450 per week; I planned to sleep on a fold out couch so Eva could have her own room," she said.
"I'd never experienced such stress in my life when trying to find accommodation.
"I didn't know where we were going to live and potentially, it could have been in the back of our car."
It got to the point where friends and family were willing to house Ms Fisher and her daughter temporarily, but the pair were finally approved for an apartment with the Illawarra Housing Trust last November.
"To get a place on our own is the best thing that happened to me in what had been a really tough year," she said.
"I was deliriously happy when my application was approved. The apartment is stunning and I want to give back by being part of the community that we live with."
This situation is not unique to Ms Fisher, with many Illawarra families crying out for more affordable housing.
It comes as a new report by the Committee on Community Services recommended a bigger spend by the NSW Government on providing and maintaining social housing in a bid to ease the critical shortage of housing options.
The report has been welcomed by Illawarra Housing Trust CEO, Michele Adair.
"I was concerned that the government and councils would make temporary solutions available and fail to go the next step into long term housing," Ms Adair said.
"This report demonstrates the consistent and strong recognition that the government must continue to invest in increasing the supply of social and affordable housing," she said.
The Committee found that both temporary and long-term housing options are needed to address the social housing shortage.
"The committee recognises that community housing providers like the Illawarra Housing Trust can provide more cost effective housing solutions than the government," Ms Adair said.
"We have the capacity to deliver many more homes, however we need land or cash grants to enable that to occur."
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