Run by Providential Homes, the emergency accommodation hub formerly known as the Grand Central Hotel, currently has seven bedrooms and a live-in caretaker to assist clients and according to state manager Leonie Sanderson, the rooms are full on a regular basis.

"Our capacity is to take up to seven couples, families or singles on any given night and we're quite full, we do have quiet periods but we've got referrals coming in constantly on a daily basis," she said.

It's an alarming statistic with one in every 200 people across Australia being homeless.

The 2016 Census revealed a total of 37,715 people were homeless in NSW and 5861 of those were persons living in supported accommodation for the homeless.

Ms Sanderson said homeless people or people at risk of becoming homeless weren't able to rent with the current rental vacancy sitting at zero per cent in Lithgow and prices being out of their budget.

"There's not enough going at the moment and there is a need for social housing," she said.

To help close this gap, Providential Homes offer a transitional program to their clients and give them a chance and getting to a point of stability and long-term accommodation.

"Clients are provided up to 28 days of temporary emergency accommodation from referring agencies such as DCJ and Link2Home," Ms Sanderson said.

"We've got a six month transitional program which gives them stability to create rental history and our caseworkers then work one on one during that process to be able to transition them into long term, stable accommodation," she said.

She said there were also additional programs such as food relief and setting up those who move into their own properties.

"We've got Providential Assist which helps provide brand new furniture to those who move out because that can be overwhelming, becoming independent and setting up their own places," she said.

Regional coordinator at Lithgow, Brigitte Morson, works closely with clients to help achieve the best outcome for them.

"I come in every morning and meet new clients as they arrive, and I work with clients that have been here for a few days and link them up with support services," she said.

Ms Morson said she offers what she can to help people feel comfortable and has also approached some rough sleepers on Lithgow's Main Street.

"I've approached a couple of people and told them they can come in and have a chat with me about their situation and I've offered a Link2Home number and I've given them a blanket just so they're comfortable," she said.

Ms Morson and Ms Sanderson said homelessness was not a choice and can stem for a number of reasons from domestic violence, to a shortage of affordable housing, unemployment, mental illness, family breakdown and drug and alcohol abuse.

The recent increase of homeless people in Lithgow is also contributed to the fact that the city is considered the 'last stop' on the train line before heading further West.

"We've had a few homeless people or people in crisis that have just stopped here. They come here and see it's a nice country town and see what it has to offer but it's also very cold and not ideal for rough sleeping," Ms Morson said.

Providential has a goal to help those in need find a long term, forever home, Ms Sanderson said.

"If you're in crisis reach out and we'll help you and support you through the steps," she said.

Ms Sanderson said Link2Home is a 24 hour homelessness service and people can approach the accommodation hub Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

She said services such as Providential Homes along with Lithgow Community Projects, Thrive Services and LINC did their best to help those in crisis but they also needed to want to help themselves.

"We do see people come back for temporary accommodation a few times over and over. But see, we can only offer what we can and it's up to them to want to accept that support, and support themselves and help themselves as well," she said.

To keep up with the demand of helping people in crisis, Providential Homes has plans to expand the accommodation hub upstairs, making use of the old hotel's rooms.

"We're going to renovate another 11 rooms and our vision for this place is to have additional services under the one roof," Ms Sanderson said.

"We want to support a longer term commitment to these people."

She said she would like to see a 24 hour service and a "one-stop-shop" for homeless people's needs.

"You know, incidents don't happen just nine to five, they can happen any time of the day. So having that option for a safe place to attend 24 hours a day is what we need."

Ms Sanderson said the hub would eventually see a kitchen area come to life, offering food and support to the surrounding community as well.

"Homelessness stems from all different reasons and there's people in the community struggling who may not be homeless.

"They may just not have enough money or are under income to be able to support their family and are still in need so we want to target those people struggling as well as homeless people," she said.

"We're here to stay and want to support the community in any way possible."

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