When Australian CEO’s sleep in the streets they raise $19 million  in support of the Vinnies homeless services.

Each year Australian CEO’s sleep in the streets to raise awareness of the needs of the homeless and to support the Vincent dePaul Society’s efforts to help them.

Last year these CEO’s raised  $5.3 million! The money has funded new projects, assisted with the provision of existing homeless services and allowed Vinnies homeless services to expand their programs.

These initiatives reflect Vinnies’ determination to provide real alternatives to homelessness and to truly offer a hand up, not only a hand out.

The Vinnies CEO Sleepout began as a local community venture in Sydney’s Parramatta in 2006. Since then, the event has raised $19 million in support of Vinnies homeless services.

In 2010 the event was launched nationally and exceeded expectations, attracting almost 700 CEO’s in 7 cities nationally.

Vinnies place an emphasis on breaking personal cycles of poverty by helping people to learn to make better decisions through a range of education programs, recreation activities, and extensive information and referral services in a safe and supportive environment.

At the last Census, over 100,000 Australians were counted as experiencing homelessness (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011). The growing incidence of homelessness has not been accompanied by an increase in services to meet demand. While Vinnies operates a wide range of homeless services across the country, many areas remain without specialist homeless and housing services to support the needs of people experiencing disadvantage.

The aim of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout is not only to raise funds, but raise awareness of homelessness. Our goal is not just to service those experiencing homelessness, but to bring about an end to homelessness. The discomfort of sleeping on the streets is a fragment of the larger reality we hope to impart upon influential leaders of the community. With their help, and yours, we can fight the issue of homelessness together.