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Erin Longbottom, National Director of Homelessness at St Vincent’s Health Australia, has won the Unsung Hero Award at the Committee for Sydney’s 2026 Sydney Awards, recognising her clinical work and advocacy for people experiencing homelessness, particularly those sleeping rough.
Ms Longbottom began her career in homeless health as a nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney’s Homeless Health Service, where she led a clinical team providing outreach care. She now holds the inaugural National Director of Homelessness role, the first of its kind in an Australian healthcare organisation, focused on strengthening health’s role in preventing and ending homelessness.
Committee for Sydney CEO Eamon Waterford said Ms Longbottom “leans in” where others turn away. “She is the embodiment of an Unsung Hero and a hero for so many Sydneysiders,” he said.
Ms Longbottom said the work depends on compassion and acceptance. “You don’t judge; you just help,” she said.
St Vincent’s Health Australia said the award reflects the broader efforts of hundreds of colleagues working in homeless health across the organisation, and echoes the example set by the Sisters of Charity, who founded St Vincent’s 170 years ago.
The organisation has been addressing the health needs of people experiencing homelessness since its first hospital opened. It established Australia’s first homeless health residential services, first in Melbourne and then in Sydney, and St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney operates NSW’s only dedicated multi-disciplinary homeless health service.
Despite the hardships she has witnessed, Ms Longbottom remains hopeful. She describes hope as “anger and a plan”: anger that anyone should have to sleep rough, and a plan to solve it.
“We can solve homelessness. We know what works,” she said. “But we need the right people around the table and the proper investment to do it.”
St Vincent’s said that plan should be Australia’s plan to end homelessness: long-term investment in housing, combined with the ongoing support people need, including healthcare.
