“Some of them are living in cars but a lot are saying they will have to stay in the forests,” she said.

Ms Snowden said the decision by Shoalhaven City Council to restrict camping at the showground to motor homes and caravans, with tent camping only allowed if associated with an event, would drive the homeless underground.

“My fear is that in winter, we will see another death in the park,” she said, referring to the death in 2014 of a homeless woman camped on the banks of Bomaderry Creek.

Council voted on the camping restriction during a stormy meeting packed with residents angry about the state of the showground and what they said was poor behaviour of the people camped there.

Ms Snowden said the footage she had seen of the behaviour in the gallery during that meeting was disheartening.

“I am particularly concerned that neither Cr Greg Watson nor Cr Andrew Guile, who put up the motion, had bothered to talk to me to get a balanced understanding of the situation,” she said.

She said there had even been pressure placed on the Homeless Hub’s landlord, St Michael’s Parish, to not renew the lease on the premises.

When the Register checked, it was told there was no intention to move the Homeless Hub out. That would be contrary to the Catholic Church’s principles.

“If, as they say, the residents who led the campaign are not heartless, perhaps they could drop by with Christmas presents for the homeless, or volunteer to help their churches with their Christmas lunches for the homeless,” Ms Snowden said.

“For us it’s onwards and upwards, business as usual. This council move is not going to affect our resolve to help the homeless.”

Ms Snowden said staff had even been berated by residents for its work with homeless people.

“One woman said to me in an angry voice, ‘And you even feed them.’

“I stayed calm but wanted to say, ‘Would you prefer we let them starve?’”

The compassion of the wider Shoalhaven was not in doubt, she said, with donations of food and clothing continuing to flood in.