Two hundred and seventy eight CEOs from around NSW raised more than $1.7 million last night by participating in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout.
PIAC chief executive officer Edward Santow was one of last night’s ‘rough sleepers’.
‘There were lots of opportunities to speak
with some of the 100,000 or more Australians who are homeless every night,’ Mr
Santow said.
‘One of the abiding messages was that
homelessness can be visited on anyone. Often all it takes is a run of bad luck
all coming at once.
‘The stereotype image of the
alcoholic middle-aged male homeless person is rapidly becoming outmoded as more
and more young men and women become homeless.
‘Now, 44% of homeless people in Australia
are women, and of those the largest cohort are victims of domestic
violence.
‘The work that St Vincent de Paul does is
practical and provides enormous help to people who are homeless.
‘PIAC runs the free Homeless Persons’ Legal
Service, and we work closely with St Vincent de Paul to help their clients to
resolve some of the underlying causes of their homelessness such as massive
accumulations of debt, tenancy disputes, and unresolved fines.’