Hills Winter Sleepout Goes Online

Written by Elliot Nash on 10 August 2020

Hills Winter Sleepout 2020 – Alive 90.5 FM – Alive 90.5 FM

Alive 90.5 FM is hosting a fundraiser for Hills Winter Sleepout from 7 pm until 2 am. From 7 pm until 10 pm we have your dinner covered with a drive-by BBQ and coffee with Hills Community Aid. $10 for sausage sandwich and drink/coffee, $20 for sausage sandwich, drink and 3 raffle tickets.
From 9 pm …

The Hills Winter Sleep Out is going online Saturday, 15 August to help raise funds for those in the community doing it tough. Homeowners, renters and indoor-dwellers will swap their four-walls, and a roof for the discomfort of somebody’s couch, a car or even a tent, as members of the Hills Shire take part in the seventh annual Hills Winter Sleep Out.

Considered the most uncomfortable sleep of your life, the community event will help raise funds and awareness to support rough sleepers, the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless.

First knocking off in 2014 with over 80 people sleeping rough for the night, this year the 2020 Hills Winter Sleep Out will leave Bella Vista Farm for the digital open spaces of Zoom! Wanting as many people to join in as possible, organisers will be hosting the online event between 6 pm to 9 pm.

Priced at $20 for an individual, $40 for a family or $5 for a student, the Hills Winter Sleep Out is hoping to reach its $40,000 goal for the Hills Community Aids Hills Homeless Prevention Initiative.

Assisting people who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless, last year the service helped 81 adults and 79 children to avoid a further tragedy like debt or eviction.

“You spend the whole night wishing you were at home in your own warm bed yet at the same time even more grateful for what we do have,” said Hills Shire Mayor and Sleep Out ambassador Michelle Byrne.

“There are people in our own community who are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless as a result of severe financial crisis, family/relationship break down and domestic violence.”

“It is important that we look out for and help the most vulnerable in our own community.”

It comes as the Together Home project pours an extra $36 million delivering much-needed support to the homeless by rapidly securing homes from the private rental market. It is the largest single investment made to tackle rough sleeping in NSW.

Together Home: $36M Project Tackles NSW Rough Sleepers

The largest housing response in the history of NSW will see $36 million go towards supporting the nearly 3000 rough sleepers in the state.

Never one to ask for help, Nancy Hillary, director of All Things Entertainment is grateful The Hills Homeless Prevention Initiative, who “really saved the day”.

“A friend gave me the number of Hills Community Aid who really saved the day, instantly coming to the rescue with rent, electricity and phone vouchers. Their assistance was friendly and empathetic and so efficient.

“It gave me respite from the harassment of service providers and took away the panic of possible eviction… we will forever be in their debt. An absolute godsend in the bleakest of times.”

There were a total of 14,147 homeless persons across the 13 local government areas in Greater Western Sydney in 2016, an increase of 57.8% since 2011.

With current unemployment numbers expected to rise to 11% by Christmas (7.4% as of June) the amount of rough sleepers is likely to increase further.

To find out more about the Hills Winter Sleep Out, visit their Facebook page or jump on over to their website to see how close to the $40,000 target they are.