Now he is working to help others experiencing homelessness as a peer support worker at Uniting Ballarat and says he is feeling the best he has in his life.

But he is worried his experience will become more commonplace over the next year as cost of living and housing pressures rise.

Almost half of renters and two-thirds of people with a mortgage in Ballarat are experiencing financial stress, a data analysis by Everybody's Home shows.

Housing stress is defined as when a household is spending more than one-third of its gross income on housing costs such as rent.

Salvation Army research released this week revealed 64 per cent of people living on government support payments surveyed said not affording enough food was one of their greatest challenges.

Sixty per cent of those surveyed said they could not afford medical or dental treatment when they needed it and 55 per cent were going without meals.

Mr Gunning had worked his whole life, but said he 'just gave up' three years ago when his health issues from a genetic disease and job loss felt overwhelming.

"I lost my job and had no way of paying the rent," he said.

Mr Gunning bought a run-down 1970s van for $400 and headed out to the bush, first near Creswick and later at Mount Franklin and Slaty Creek, with his dog.

"I didn't see any options. I will also be honest, I needed to be by myself to a certain extent, so I ended up out in the bush," he said.

Mr Gunning had never received government payments before and did not know how to navigate Centrelink, so had no income and relied on support from his daughter, until Uniting workers found him camped out.

Uniting homelessness workers helped him get set up with Centrelink and he used the income to purchase some small items to make life in the bush easier, like tarps and a fridge with solar panels.

He said he met other homeless men in the bush. They were some of the only other people he saw other than during visits to the supermarket and from Uniting workers during his 18 months in the bush.

Collecting firewood became a job to fuel the large fire that heated his van, served as his only cooking facility and as 'bushman's aftershave', covering body odour as he rarely showered.

Mr Gunning was diagnosed with Spinocerebellar Ataxia soon after his life in the bush began, but many of his family members have the disease and he said he 'knew it was coming for 10 years'.

It is a genetic disorder which creates problems with balance and co-ordination, increasingly slurred, slow and unclear speech, difficulty swallowing and muscle stiffness and cramps.

"I didn't realise it at the time... but I have this disease and fatigue is really huge... I was tired every day and getting firewood became increasingly hard," Mr Gunning said.

"I have worked my whole life. It is hard to come to that realistion about working. In three or four years I won't be able to walk.

"The fact that I am working here is different. I didn't want to waste my last few years working for the man... I am working for the people really, so I don't care that I am tired."

Mr Gunning's Uniting case worker offered him a spare unit in Creswick and he said moving there from the bush changed his life, but at the time, he was tempted to stay living in the bush.

"A lot of men get stuck out in the bush a couple of years and they do become comfortable. I was very close," he said.

RELATED COVERAGE: Government cuts funding for 'life-changing' homelessness program

Mr Gunning said moving into the unit allowed him to reconnect with people after living isolated for so long and improve his physical and mental health, start studying community service and get a job.

His case worker at Uniting encouraged him to apply for the homelessness peer support worker role.

"Obviously nothing was going to be fixed if I could not have a roof over my head," he said.

"I didn't quite realise how hard living out there was on my body. All of a sudden my energy levels are back up, my brain started working better.

"I have always been a team leader at work. I didn't feel like that. Even now I have confidence issues but I am coming out of it."

Mr Gunning said he went on an outreach visit with other Uniting workers last week and found a man living in the exact same spot in the bush he had for so long.

He shared his story with the man.

"I have grown so much. I started to think about my mental health in different ways," he said.

"I am in the best place since I was a teenager and that is really funny... I am so grateful and I want other people to feel this.

"I am now at 50 at the best place I have been in my life... I bake my own bread and do art class every week. Who would have thought?"

Mr Gunning is helping to set up a homelessness advocacy reference committee at Uniting made up of nine people who have slept rough and been through the service.

They will be asked to share their thoughts on how to improve homelessness responses and will help coordinate a National Homelessness Week program.

Mr Gunning also runs an art class every Thursday for people experiencing homelessness.

"I never thought I would do something like this. I love it for myself let alone getting consumers to come in," he said.

"The big thing is re-engaging people. A lot of people have said the same sort of thing as me, that you forget how to live a bit.

"Everyone's homelessness journey is different."

Mr Gunning said he was loving his work at Uniting and expected it to be his last job as his condition and ability to walk deteriorates.

"I won't work again after this," he said.

"I feel really good. I really do love it here and will see out my days here. I will do all I can while I can walk and speak until you can't understand me properly anymore.

"My whole life, from the moment I left school I have wanted to help people. I really feel like I am where I am supposed to be."

When asked if he would like to send a message to others, Mr Gunning said 'ask for help'.

"Don't be ashamed to ask for help. I didn't. This didn't have to happen," he said.

Contact Uniting Ballarat on 5332 1286 if you need homelessness support.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.