In early July, the energy was high at the north Wagga camp site as the homeless fought to avoid eviction from their makeshift home, with campers, media and support services mingling freely, and many happy that they were finally being given a voice.

But on my recent trips there in the past week the mood was markedly different; quiet and flat, nobody congregating like before. The rough sleepers seemed angry, having settled back into the reality that not much has changed. They are no better or no worse off than they were before July.

One bright spot to come from it all was the news that homeless couple Aaron and Skye Buschmann have found work and a home.

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The couple graciously thanked the media for their help and while we played our part, we only reflected the anger that the community felt towards the actions of our local government.

The council and state government grossly underestimated the feeling of the community by appearing to put their interests above some of our most vulnerable.

A common refrain I heard from the state government during this time was that these people have to meet the them halfway, with one bureaucrat crassly comparing the homeless to an addict who has to want help before they can recover.

While I take the point that outreach teams have a tough job, the people I met at Wilks Park are complex and have their own reasons why the old ways of attempting to rehome them won't always work.

It was incredibly confronting to report on at times and I shared the community's anger. I met people who'd lost loved ones, and one person who lost their home to fire and is on a list waiting to be rehomed.

Another rough sleeper I spent time with on a number of occasions was a victim of abuse in an institutional setting, spent periods in and out of prison and now suffers with complex mental health issues. For him, it is hard to trust the authorities.

Another small positive was that the government was forced to act. The Department of Communities and Justice has committed to upping outreach to twice weekly and will now bring their services to the people living at the park.

But what's the real long-term fix? What happens the next time a tourist complains, or the next time a bonfire goes up? What happens if somebody grumbles that the camp is an eyesore? When will that next eviction letter come?

What does it say about us if we can't find enough empathy to allow our homeless to sleep in tents, out of sight, in a far away waterlogged paddock with no amenities other than a toilet?

And how long before we decide that as a society with so much, it's unacceptable that there are people with so little?

Wagga St Vincent de Paul president Peter Burgess described the attempted eviction as "traumatic" for an already struggling cohort and questioned the role we all play in finding them shelter.

"If we are denying them things that the rest of society can access, what are we saying? That's not a society is it?" he said.

One lesson I've learnt beyond a doubt in recent months is that Australia has a multilayered class system and it's getting worse.

Inflation has risen 6.1 per cent in the last 12 months and it's getting harder for everyone to make ends meet.

An estimated 14 per cent of all renters are experiencing rental stress, and 5.5 per cent of all Australians are paying 50 per cent or more of their total income on housing costs, so it's easy to imagine homelessness growing in the coming years.

A new analysis of rental data by the Everybody's Home campaign reveals the NSW regions where renters are "hardest hit by the toxic combination of surging increases and stagnant wages". The Riverina was the fourth hardest hit, with rents surging by 10 per cent over the last three years.

Many people I've spoken to over the past couple of months while reporting on this issue say more housing is key.

Homelessness Australia has this week called for a massive investment by governments to address the issue. They want to see 25,000 social housing properties built a year, alongside another 25,000 affordable rentals every year for low-income earners.

In Wagga there is currently a two to five-year wait for social housing, with almost 500 people on it. The government only plans to add 74 more properties over the next three years. It won't solve everyone's problems but fixing housing would be a serious start, requiring a serious commitment from all levels of government.

The second lesson is that there is real power in community unrest. At state and federal level it's easy to get swept along when big issues arise, but this city banded together and changed the course of events, and for that Wagga can be proud.

But as we all move on with our lives, and the media report on something else, let's not forget that the homeless crisis in Wagga is not over and it is not confined to the people at Wilks Park.

This homelessness week, let's make sure progress is made. Call Joe McGirr, call your councillors and stay angry.

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