Winter sleepout to raise funds to assist the homeless

St Vincent de Paul Society NSW has a long-standing commitment to helping those who are experiencing homelessness. This year, the Vinnies Western Sydney Community Sleepout aims to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place.

Did you know?

  • According to the Greater Western Sydney Research Report, housing stress is one of the biggest drivers of disadvantage in Australia.
  • In Greater Sydney, 36.7% of households across the region are experiencing housing stress (where more than 30% of household income spent on rent or mortgage).

In Western Sydney, this figure is significantly higher, with 45.7% of households experiencing housing stress, giving them few options if something happened that impacted their ability to pay their rent or mortgage.

Across Western Sydney, Vinnies provides a range of programs and services to assist in preventing struggling families from experiencing homelessness. Our Community Hubs, which offer client-centred support and referral, are just one example of how we help people in need.

On a day-to-day basis, families who are experiencing financial stress, relationship breakdowns and medical issues are forced to choose between feeding their family or paying their bills. The Vinnies Community Hubs offer assistance by providing the support, information and connections these families need to get back on their feet.

The vital funds raised through this event will go directly to our programs to offer support to people experiencing disadvantage in our local communities.

St Vincents is asking you to join them on Friday 30 August at Western Sydney University Parramatta South Campus for a night of information, discussion and experiential activities, all before bedding down on the campus to experience just a taste of what it’s like to sleep rough for a night. By making the commitment to spend a night without the creature comforts of home, you’ll be helping to raise both awareness of the issue and much-needed funds to help those at risk.

To register click here.