Emergency shelters in Canberra are being stretched beyond capacity, with more people being forced to sleep rough this winter, a welfare agency says.

The last census in 2011 reported a 70 per cent rise in homelessness in Canberra and according to ACT Shelter's executive officer Travis Gilbert there has been no improvement.

"Service providers are telling us that there is evidence of more visible homelessness in the Inner North and in Civic," Mr Gilbert said.

Many of Canberra's homeless get by with so-called "couch surfing", staying with friends or relatives.

But Mr Gilbert believes this year it appears more people are sleeping rough.

He said Canberra shelters were under growing pressure with more people seeking refuge as the winter months approached.

"There are more people looking for beds than there are beds on any given night," he said.

Emergency shelter for men struggles to meet demand

Safe Shelter, which is run at a church hall in Braddon, provides a safe and warm place for up to eight homeless men at a time.

The emergency shelter offers accommodation to men three nights a week.

Safe Shelter coordinator Richard Griffiths said his attempts to find more emergency shelter venues for homeless men has been unsuccessful. ( ABC News )

Now in its third year, the shelter opens at the end of April and runs throughout the colder months.

Shelter coordinator Richard Griffiths said he has noticed a big jump in demand already this year.

"We've got something like about five or six times as many guests in the first two weeks and we think it's going to get much worse in the rest of winter," he said.

Mr Griffiths had hoped to expand the service this year to five or seven nights every week.

But he was struggling to find more venues to accommodate the service.

"We have spoken to one or two potential venues but obviously they're concerned about what that's going to do to their halls," he said.

"It's not actually a threat to their halls or ... their neighbourhood."

The service also relies on volunteers to run it, and many more would be needed to expand the service.

"We'd need at least 140 volunteers," Mr Griffiths said.

Bill Sanders started volunteering at Safe Shelter last year and considers it a vital community service.

"When the guys come in all they want to do is sleep," Mr Sanders said.

"Sometimes they'll have a cup of coffee and a chat but most times they're just too tired.

Editors' note: Earlier this story incorrectly stated that 400 people were being turned away from Canberra shelters each night. That figure was a national figure. The story has been updated.