“Up until the year before there had been a steady increase, but last financial year there was a decrease of about 15 per cent,” said Byamee manager Leigh Smith. “Now, there could have been a number of factors behind that, but we take it as a positive sign that our strategies are finally starting to work.”

For Mr Smith it will be a case of leaving on a good note. After six-and-a-half years, the last 18 months of which he served as manager, he’s leaving Byamee and Moree to take on a business development role in Tamworth Family Support Service. 

“It’s an exciting new step,” he said. “There were a few factors, but basically it was just the right time.”

His replacement is Rebecca Hyland. She’s originally from Tamworth but has worked in the community services and health sectors – specifically mental health and chronic diseases – across New South Wales, Queensland and, most recently, the Northern Territory.  

“My family drew me back,” she said. “I’ve got family all throughout the Tamworth, Narrabri and Moree regions and one of my portfolios in the Territory was housing and homelessness. So the position was perfect for me.”

Hers, however, will not be exactly the same role as it was for Leigh. State government cuts have seen the number of contracts given to homelessness workers fall from 350 to 140. In Moree that number has gone from four people to just one: Ms Hyland. 

In response Byamee has formed an alliance with the Ngala Womens Refuge and Moree Family Support to head the Moree Alliance Against Homelessness Services (MAAHS).

Her mission will remain the same though and Ms Hyland will continue Byamee’s work in helping people in vulnerable situations across the shire meet high rents, beat addictions and find employment. 

“All the work we do is tailored to the individual,” Mr Smith said. “Sometimes they might just need guiding in the right direction, other times they might need rent paid for them or help with budgets so that they don’t get into that situation again. Others need different support like drug and alcohol counselling, so it varies greatly.”

Mr Smith said homelessness is broken into three categories. Those in the primary category “sleep rough” while those in the tertiary category have accommodation in boarding houses or caravan parks where they have no tenure and face the prospect of removal at any point. 

“Your secondary is the main category in Australia,” Mr Smith said. “It’s your couch surfers, people in over crowded places, places without running water and things like that.

“Moree’s main category falls into the secondary... roughly 90 per cent of those 500 people would be in the secondary category.” 

For Ms Hyland, the chance to work helping those people find secure accommodation is an enticing prospect.  

“I’m looking forward to an exciting new chapter, getting out into the community, making new links and new innovations,” she said.