A number of homeless people living in Launceston said Safe Space was no longer a safe environment for them and they felt pitching a tent outside in winter was a better option.

Safe Space is run by City Mission and funded by the state government, with an extra $1.9 million announced in May to expand the service from 22 beds to 33. Camp or cot beds are provided to clients with all meals and City Mission provides access to services to help people transition out of homelessness.

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The homeless, who have chosen to remain anonymous, are current and past clients of Safe Space, with some saying they were concerned for their future prospects of getting social housing if they chose to speak out.

Instances of anti-social behaviour, threatening behaviour from people who have been refused access, along with conflict between clients overnight have led to some clients vowing never to return.

One person told of how they feared for their safety following instances of abuse and the threat of violence from clients who had been refused access to Safe Space.

"The front door is not very heavy, it should be a steel door, because when people get turned away [from Safe Space] they lurk outside and scream things at us inside - it's scary," they said.

This week is National Homelessness Week.

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"There are people outside threatening to break down the doors and get back in, there's been some scary moments that we've seen."

Safe Space Launceston is a 24/7 crisis accommodation facility to provide dormitory-style accommodation for "rough sleepers".

Inside the dorm, one woman said she had witnessed clients bullying the staff, and had felt unsafe while being a witness to conflict among other clients, or being exposed to people dealing with complex mental ill-health episodes.

"You have to be out by 7am, and you put your bed up in the morning and someone will go off, the girls will get into a big argument about something, but we're all forced through the same doors which can be confronting," she said.

"There is a side door, but if you choose to head out there and they see you, they will confront you about avoiding them."

City Mission operations manager Stephen Hill said the dormitory-style accommodation "would not suit" everyone, but said the organisation was willing to engage with clients on how to make the facility safer if they chose to come forward.

"Our top priority is to make sure people feel they are welcome and feel safe...it's about providing people with a space, not just a bed."

The homeless said they had witnessed people attend Safe Space under the influence of drugs or alcohol and they were aware of incidents where the police were called to attend the dorm.

"They call it Safe Space, but it's not safe at all," they said.

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A major concern was the lack of security overnight, with security guards leaving the premises at 9pm with only a couple of social workers to staff from then.

Mr Hill said City Mission vetted potential clients of Safe Space in an attempt to curb any anti-social behaviour and City Mission's staff were trained to de-escalate issues as they arose.

"We have a number of duress responses that we use to de-escalate situations if they escalate...the demographic of our staff are varied and they have all been trained to de-escalate situations," he said.

He confirmed security did leave overnight, but said there were three social workers and cameras installed over the entire premises.

However, Mr Hill admitted those who are experiencing homelessness often have complex mental health challenges, or other behavioural challenges, which can make mixing in with a group difficult and could lead to conflict at times.

The extra 11 rooms funded this year were set up as one private room, rather than the dormitory style, and Mr Hill said these had been popular with the homeless community.

He said clients who had previously declined a bed at Safe Space had taken up the offer of these rooms and City Mission was in discussion with the state government to extend the funding.

Funding for those extra rooms are due to expire in September.

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However, those are not the only concerns facing Safe Space. An existing client said the amenities offered at Safe Space were not effective and didn't service the amount of clients there each night.

They said there was mould growing in the bathroom, one of the toilets was leaking and the fridge to hold all clients' snacks was only a small bar fridge.

There is also only one washer and dryer to service up to 30 people- they said there wasn't enough time to get through everyone to clean their clothes before they had to leave in the morning.

All of the members of the homeless community said being on street was preferable to Safe Space and one vowed to never return.

However, they all said the staff there worked as hard as they could to support them, but the model wasn't working.

Housing Minister Guy Barnett said Safe Space provided 99 spaces each night across Tasmania.

"Safe Spaces are low-barrier shelters for people sleeping rough who are difficult to accommodate in other types of shelters or brokered emergency accommodation, such as hotels, motels, and caravan parks," he said.

The state government has invested $6.9 million specifically for Safe Space, which funds all aspects of the service to ensure it is safe and secure, as well as the connected support services.

Mr Barnett said he was willing to talk to anyone who had ideas on how to improve services for the homeless.

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