Sleep out for homelessness

On Sunday 31 August Mission Australia held its fund raiser for homeless people and to build awareness of a very real problem in our community: Every night there are 105,000 people in Australia who don’t have a safe place to call home.

More than 17 per cent of Australia’s homeless are under 10. One in every 39 children aged under four sleeps in a homeless shelter. 33 per cent of children accommodated in homeless shelters are fleeing domestic violence. Family groups are the most likely to be turned away when seeking immediate accommodation for the first time. Of these, 67 per cent are individuals with children.

The Mission Australia Winter Sleepout is about getting a blanket, heading to the backyard and sleeping out for a good cause. It is about getting together with friends, neighbours or colleagues and raise money for Australia’s homeless men, women and children.

It started 25 years ago: The first sleepout was in Martin Place in 1988. 1999 it was on the Opera House steps. Sleepouts happened in Brisbane, Goulburn and the Taronga Zoo. This year it is back to Australia’s backyards, taking the opportunity to get the community together for a good cause. Mission Australia aims to raise $200,000 this year.