It's a topic that will not go away

We have seen the rental crisis, with many people finding it harder than it used to be to find a place to have a roof over their head.

I feel like I'm repeating myself there as the rental shortage was the issue I looked at in last week's email to readers.

But having a place to live has continued to be in the news.

Just this week we reported on the latest data on homelessness, which showed a concerning number of residents in the local area were seeking assistance.

Then there was the moving story of James Cain's predicament.

That story came to us after we reported on the massive increase in the social housing waiting list in the local area, which was written by Allison Hore at the beginning of February.

The day that first story was published we discussed it in the morning news meeting, where I asked if we had a follow-up story.

A follow-up is a term used in newsrooms to describe another story on the same topic that can shed more light on it or tell a human story of someone affected by the issue.

Straight away Allison mentioned she had been contacted about James Cain.

She explained the details.

This man was living in Dubbo, he has terminal cancer, but had no family here and the only reason he was living here was because his home had been damaged and there was no other social housing available closer to Sydney where he was from.

We knew we had a story we had to tell.

Allison started working on it, which included contacting the office of Housing Minister Rose Jackson, and it brought some positive news before we had even published.

By the time the story went live on our website this week we were able to include the news that government departments were working to help find a suitable place for James closer to his home city.

That's a good result in a sad situation.

In the meantime, housing is a topic that I know we will continue to report on.

Thanks for reading and have a great week.

Laurie Bullock

Editor, Daily Liberal