More than 50 students the Sydney University Young Vinnies’ Winter Sleepout will be sleeping rough – with only a sleeping bag and a cardboard box – on campus tonight to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless. Funds raised by the students will help The St Vincent de Paul Society carry out their vital work in the community.
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Ms Burney, who was an Ambassador and participant in the recent St Vincent De Paul CEO Sleepout, said it was encouraging to see young people taking an active role in raising awareness of social injustices.
Having a roof over our heads is a basic human right yet so many in our state are going without. On any given night, more than 100,000 Australians are without a home,” Ms Burney said.
Community Services this year committed $127.2 million to the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) funding nearly 400 services that support people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless including families, single adults, young people and women and children fleeing domestic violence.
In 2007/2008, SAAP services helped over 56,000 people including 19,000 accompanying children.
Around 40 per cent of SAAP funding goes to helping young people aged under 25. The good news is that most of them – about 75 per cent – need to use SAAP only once,” Ms Burney said.
The Commonwealth and States are committing $800 million of new funding over four years to address homelessness. This is the most funding ever committed by government to tackle the issue.
Vice-President of Sydney University Young Vinnies Society Katherine Allsop said The Society is a student-run organisation with around 250 members, under the auspices of the St Vincent de Paul Society.
Our principal aim is to connect students who have a passion for social justice with people who are homeless and marginalised in our community. Our main activities include operating the Night Patrol service once a month and our fortnightly Breakfast Van,” Ms Allsop said.
We’re also keen to foster in young people a strong desire to achieve in the field of community services, either professionally or on a volunteer basis, long after they leave the university halls.”Stuend Vinnies (Australia)
Tags: Advocacy
