Take a moment to consider today over 100,000 Australians will be experiencing some sort of homelessness.
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Whatever way you look at it, for a developed nation, that’s an alarming figure.
Tonight across the country, including Wollongong, over 1500 business leaders will attempt to at least walk a mile in the shoes of someone living on the streets. June 22, 2017, marks the Vinnies CEO Sleepout.
Outside of those experiencing homelessness over 2.5 million Australians are living below the poverty line. So far this year, at the time of writing, over $4 million has been raised so far.
That money goes to Vinnies to help tackle the issue of homelessness and help those who need it most. The CEO Sleepout started as a concept in 2006 in Parramatta.
On June 22 business leaders will now gather in Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Launceston, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney and Wollongong.
Adelaide’s CEO Sleepout will be held the following week.
Wollongong was one of the first regional centres to join the fundraising drive in 2013.
This year a huge focus for the CEO Sleepout is the issue of homelessness of elderly women in our community. We’ve read a lot that issue within these pages of late and there is some great initiatives taking shape locally.
It’s recognised divorce and sudden financial hardship among other factors can have a devastating impact on a woman’s ability to support themselves later in life.
“Many women spent long periods of time without regular employment while raising their children and as a result they have much less superannuation to draw on,” CEO St Vincent de Paul Society NSW Jack de Groot said.
“Many of those struggling now also experienced relationship breakdown.
“They are also usually in lower paid jobs and now, as they face failing health, redundancy or retirement, they find they can no longer afford to pay escalating rents in the private rental market. These women struggle to keep a roof over their head.”
Congratulations to all the business leaders in Wollongong who are taking up the cause and sleeping with nothing but their piece of cardboard for this year’s CEO Sleepout.
Congratulations in particular to CEO of the Aster Group Daniel Munk who has raised almost $20,000 alone this year to the cause.