Mr Brown has taken on the responsibility of raising his four children who are all under the age of six years old, and freely admits finding enough money to feed and house his brood is not easy.

Like many families in Orange Mr Brown relies on government assistance to cover his living costs, but the money he receives leaves no room for any luxury items.

Most of the meals he cooks use ingredients that  are on special at the supermarket, but Mr Brown is  proud to say his children always have enough fruit and vegetables to eat.

He’s also developed a network of friends who he regularly swaps children’s clothing with, and is thankful of the support the staff and other parents at Calare Public School have given him.

However, not all items he needs can be bought at a discount or borrowed from friends. Mr Brown told the Central Western Daily he’d saved for six months to take his children to the Dubbo zoo in the last school holidays.

Despite his hardship Mr Brown feels like one of the lucky ones, having managed to secure a large rental house with an expansive backyard for his children to enjoy.

A new study released by Anglicare yesterday reveals just how difficult it is to find low-income housing in Orange.

Of course, Orange is not the only city where it’s difficult to find an affordable rental property; the housing affordability crisis is an issue facing regional communities everywhere.

State and federal governments need to intervene to ensure every individual and family has access to safe, affordable housing while accelerating the construction of social housing programs.