Donna Davis has been appointed case manager for community connections, a first for Mission in the Bega Valley.

Ms Davis said her job involves working closely with the Department of Housing.

“My role is to identify homeless people in the Bega region, the people in crisis,” she said.

“Once they’ve found accommodation, my role becomes case management.

“It’s up to me to make sure they don’t fall off the rails and become a revolving door.”

According to the 2006 census there are 130 people homeless in the Bega Valley, the third highest rate in NSW.

Mission Australian Southern NSW operations manager Cheryl O’Donnell said she expected the latest census to show no decrease in the local homelessness rate.

Ms Davis said the 2006 study led to her appointment.

“They found there weren’t enough specialist homeless case managers,” she said.

“I’m glad that they identified there is a problem down here but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Ms Davis said future homelessness also needed to be prioritised.

“I cover early intervention for people who could become homeless,” she said.

“We are an arm for the other services such as mental health, drug and alcohol, and housing.

“The big thing for me is that we can see that homelessness is on the rise.

“We’ll try to do our best to counter it.”

Ms Davis said a key area of homelessness is housing availability and affordability in the Bega Valley.

“The biggest problem is that there is not enough housing stock,” she said.

“Housing is becoming quite expensive in the rental sector - it’s unaffordable.

“I’m very concerned and I’m not sure what the answer is.

“Most services in the area are as concerned as I am but we’re working closely together.

“But at the end of the day, there is no quick fix.”

Ms Davis has received a lot of interest since becoming case manager.

“I think I have made a difference so far but it’s slow progress,” she said.

“It’s about getting the community involved but I have had some success stories so far and I think it’s working well.

“My books are closed at the moment but there is a waiting list.

“The more people on that list, the more that will get filtered up through the system.”

A familiar face at Mission Australia, Ms Davis previously worked in employment services.

However, she said she was happy with the transition.

“I’ve always a passion for helping the homeless.

“I like to problem solve and look after people who have more barriers.

“I realised early that I wanted to get into it

but I wanted to stay

here because Mission Australia are a great company.

“They stick to their values of compassion, integrity, respect, perseverance and celebration,” she said.