"It's stressful saying 'no' to a mum with four kids and having to say I don't have the support workers to take you on - if we did [have extra support workers] I could get you a house right now," Ash said.

Ash said lack of funding for homelessness services is the main issue for the Bomaderry based Salt Ministries organisation- a group leading the fight against homelessness in the Shoalhaven.

While Ash and husband Mitch are Salt's newish Assisted Housing managers, they have been at the forefront of the Nowra homeless crisis for many years.

Rarely does a day go by when they are not called upon to help a homeless person,

"There are many people without houses in the current rental market and people find it hard to find homes," Mitch explained about the current situation.

Ash and Mitch not only look after Salt's houses - they importantly assist the group's support workers.

The equation is simple - more funding means more support workers, more support workers means Salt can get more houses and more houses means more people off the streets.

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Salt has 24 houses at the moment but would love more.

However, the hurdle they face is funding.

"We need more funding to employ more support workers so we can take on more houses," Ash said.

"We have five to six support workers at the moment but that is not enough."

Mitch said their current support workers were "stretched to their full capacity".

"So simply put, we need more support workers to help the occupants in our homes," Mitch added.

Salt currently has a waiting list of 20 people looking for a house, a number that will only increase.

Mitch says if they need up to 100 houses they would also need at least 12 support workers.

"The need is so great and our support workers are burning out," Ash said.

The people in Salt houses each require different levels of support - one person may need to be seen once a week by a support worker whereas another person may need help three times a week.

Support workers help with things like Centrelink issues, taking a person to appointments and just helping people adjust to many things most of us take for granted.

"It's our job to get the houses and get the people in the houses, but it's the support workers' job to help the person maintain their tenancy," Ash said.

"You can't just find a person a house and they say job done and walk away.

"It sets up a person to fail," Ash said.

She said some people may not know how to cook, clean, pay bills or go to the doctors.

Mitch says Salt's "wrap-around service" which includes ongoing support is a model that works.

"We catch the people who have fallen through the cracks, we get them back on their feet and we are seeing great results," he said.

Mitch and Ash have been involved with helping homeless people for five years.

They say the need is growing and homelessness is on the rise.

"Getting in a supported house seems to be the thing that is working," Ash said.

"If we had more support workers, we could get more houses and get more people in homes.

"If the funding was there we could employ so many more support workers in a heartbeat but the funding is not there at the moment."

They again stress theirs is a model to follow and one that should be built upon.

Salt makes an effort to know a person before they house them - just to see if they would like to work with the group and get into more stable living arrangements.