More and more Orange residents are facing homelessness after massive hikes in their rent they can't afford.
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Figures reveal the weekly median asking rent for Orange has soared by more than 20 per cent in the past 12 months, and with no corresponding increase in wages, pensions or other Centrelink payments, it's becoming impossible for many to stay in the place they're in, let alone find somewhere else.
"We've had two cases just today where pensioners have come in for help because their rents have been put up," said Salvation Army Doorways Caseworker Miriam Hardy.
"One person's rent went up $90 - from $400 to $490 a week - that's an awful amount of money for anybody at the moment.
"The other lady has ended up homeless because she couldn't afford her rent. She's under the care of NDIS and is receiving help from them, but the rents are just astronomical."
The lack of affordable housing has been identified as a critical social justice concern for people in the electorate of Calare in the Salvation Army's new Social Justice Stocktake report.
The charity says it has has released the national report in the run up to the federal election to help people reflect on social justice and take action on the injustice and hardship they can see.
Almost half of respondents surveyed for the report in Calare named housing affordability as their top concern.
It says as many as 400 people are experiencing homelessness in the Calare electorate, and there is a shortfall of 3300 social housing properties.
Salvation Army Major Kate Young said Orange and Bathurst were epicentres for the electorate's housing affordability problem. Both cities are now considered high demand areas, with people looking at waiting lists of "year and years" to be considered for social housing.
"I've got an elderly gentleman that's having to sleep in the backyard of someone's home because he had nowhere to live. He's got all these health issues, but there's just literally no property available for him. It's heartbreaking," she said.
Other issues of concern in Calare identified in the Salvation Army's Social Justice Stocktake Report included mental health, drug and alcohol misuse and family violence.
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