It comes on the back of a report released today by the Australian Council of Social Service that reveals a 12per cent jump in assistance provided by agencies across the community services sector.

Helen Keevers, regional manager for the Benevolent Society in the Central Coast and the Hunter Valley, said the report’s findings were borne out at its early intervention service.

‘‘One of the things that really concerns us is we’re seeing a changing profile of homelessness – we’re seeing homeless families,’’ she said.

The problems were complex and required creative thinking and closer attention at state government level, where there is no longer a dedicated Minister for Housing, Ms Keevers said. Housing comes under Pru Goward’s Family and Community Services portfolio.

‘‘We need a housing summit where businesses, politicians and agencies working with these families have a dialogue about possible solutions,’’ Ms Keevers said.

‘‘Certainly having it as an allocated portfolio would help.’’

The report also found that there had been a huge increase in the number of eligible people turned away by overstretched agencies as difficult economic times hit.

In 2009-2010, the year covered by the report, 50,000 eligible people were turned away from housing services, or about 135 a day – a 22per cent increase on the previous year.

‘‘These findings highlight the disconnect between the perception that Australia has fully recovered from the global financial crisis and that most people are doing fine, with the stark reality that a growing group on the bottom simply are not doing well,’’ said Dr Cassandra Goldie, chief executive of ACOSS.

The sector provided services on 6,180,282 occasions in 2009-2010, up from 5,513,780 the previous year.

But people were denied help on about 345,000 occasions, an annual increase of 19per cent.

That translates to one in 20 eligible people who sought support being turned away, as the surge in demand meant agencies had to target their services more tightly.

Of the 745 agencies surveyed, 89per cent said mental health services were the most pressing unmet need, followed by homelessness and housing. SMH