Kerri Snowden’s words cut like the icy wind clawing the faces of an unknown number of homeless people sleeping rough along the length of the South Coast.

Winter reasserted itself with malice on the weekend, with gale force winds and icy temperatures making life even more miserable for those with nowhere to call home.

As head of the Homeless Hub in Nowra, Kerri has been campaigning for a number of years for shelters to be opened for the homeless during times of extreme weather.

She is not lobbying for them to be permanent shelters.

This winter she’s determined to see it happen and here at Fairfax Media we are going to help by approaching local councils and churches, which have plenty of buildings that sit empty most of the time, and asking that these be turned into shelters when the weather turns bad.

We believe we have a responsibility to advocate for all members of our community, especially those whose voices have been lost in the wilderness of homelessness.

Like Kerri, we do not want this issue swept aside and forgotten about when winter moves on. We want to see a system set in place by the end of August.

We know there are underlying reasons for homelessness. We accept that addressing these is a monumental task.

However, if we can be the catalyst for one small change that will provide refuge from the worst nature throws at homeless people, the whole community will be better for it.

In the next few weeks we will keep you updated with progress of this campaign. With your help, we can make a difference.