I was proud to join 111 Canberra CEOs and 681 CEOs nationwide in the 2010 Vinnies CEO Sleepout.
It was the first time the CEO Sleepout was held in Canberra, after the event’s success in Sydney last year when 200 business leaders slept out and raised $602,000 in funds.
The aim of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout is not only to raise funds, but raise awareness of homelessness with a goal to not just service the homeless, but to bring about an end to homelessness. The idea of the CEO Sleepout is that the discomfort of sleeping on the streets is a fragment of the larger reality St Vincent de Paul hope to impart upon influential leaders of the community.
The mean minimum temperature for Canberra in June is 1.4 degrees Celsius, and can get as low as minus five. It is also predicted to rain in Canberra tonight and regardless of the weather, the event will go ahead.
Participants in the Sleepout are allowed only a sleeping bag and pillow, and were given cardboard to separate them from the concrete. Only a basic meal of soup and a bread roll will be served and we will be staying out from 7pm to 7am.
The Statistics – 2006 Census
Last year 65,000 people visited St Vincent de Paul’s drop-in-centre or Night Patrol van, which provides food, clothing and conversation. St Vincent de Paul’s call centre also received 12,000 calls for emergency relief and 740 individuals and 280 families without a home and shelter were provided with accommodation.
The number of people estimated to be homeless in the ACT grew by 11% between 2001 and 2006. At the last Census, 104,700 Australians were counted as homeless (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006) with 50,256 Australian’s on the street, every night. In Canberra 1,364 people were homeless in Canberra, of these 78 were sleeping rough and 38 per cent were aged 12-24. 76 per cent of the homeless population in the ACT were aged 34 or younger and 22 per cent of children under 12 years of age were with either one or both parents.
ACT’s rate of homelessness per 10,000of the population grew from 39.6 percent to 42.1 in 2006 and this was the largest jurisdiction growth reported in contrast to Victoria and New South Wales where the rate fell over the same period.
What the Government is doing about homelessness
In December 2008, the Australian Government released a White Paper on Homelessness, The Road to Home, which called on all levels of government, business, the not for profit sector and the community to join together to reduce homelessness. To view this paper visit: http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/housing/progserv/homelessness/whitepaper/Pages/default.aspx
The Government also committed to the ACT:
- $93.58 million to construct new dwellings and refurbish existing social housing dwellings as part of the $5.6 billion Nation Building Economic Stimuls Plan. 340 dwellings have so far been approved and
- $6.4 million under the National Partnership agreement on Social Housing to increase the supply of social housing through the construction of new dwellings.
Other Government commitments nationally include:
- $1 billion over the next four years to build 500,000 affordable rental properties under the National Rental Affordability Scheme;
- Improvements to Centrelink’s capacity to respond to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness; and
- Additional emergency relief funding, more personal helpers and mentors for people living with severe mental illness, innovative employment services and increased capital and recurrent funding for elderly people who are homeless.
While the numbers are difficult to quantify, this level of homelessness is unacceptable and it is my hope that the CEO Sleepout will continue to raise awareness and community support to reduce homelessness
Donations can be made online at www.ceosleepout.org.au. Follow the links to Canberra and click on my name to make a donation. All money raised goes directly towards the ongoing provision of St Vincent De Paul Societys’ homeless services across the country.
