2017
MEDIA RELEASE
[Organisation] [Position] is turning a light on homelessness
On Thursday night 22 June, [Organisation] [Position], [Participant Name], will fight
homelessness, joining around 100 other Western Australian business, government and
community leaders for the 2017 Vinnies CEO Sleepout.
Spending a night outside at the WACA with only a piece of cardboard for shelter, the aim of
the event is for participants to experience first-hand just a fragment of what it is like to be
homeless, meanwhile raising funds for Vinnies homeless services.
[Participant Name] is striving to raise a minimum of $5,000 to help Vinnies provide
immediate relief to people in crisis and to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness.
“I’m proud to participate in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout because … [insert personalised quote
regarding participant’s motivation to address the issue of homelessness],” [participant] said.
“[Insert additional quote/s from participant].”
St Vincent de Paul Society WA Acting CEO Adele Stewart said the Vinnies CEO Sleepout is
a great opportunity for business, community and government leaders to come together and
sleep out for one night so that others don’t have to for life.
“On any given night more than 105,000 Australians have no place to call home.”
Approximately 27 per cent of Australia’s homeless are children, and 23 per cent are faced
with this situation due to domestic and family violence.
“Behind each statistic is the story of a fellow Australian — someone just like you and me —
who has experienced the extreme isolation and desperation of homelessness,” Ms Stewart
said.
In 2015/16 Vinnies assisted more than 48,700 people through its specialist services and
programs. With only one of our six homeless services receiving Government funding,
support from leaders like you is vital in ensuring we can continue to provide help to
individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
ENDS
[Insert information on interview/vision/media opportunities, for example photo opportunity
with the participant holding their sleeping bag, pillow, etc]
To learn about how you can fight homelessness go to: www.ceosleepout.org.au
[For more information please contact: [insert organisations media contact email and phone
number].

Homelessness Fact Sheet WA
There are officially more than 105,000 Australians experiencing homelessness every
night across Australia (1 in every 200).

More than 17,000 Australian children under the age of 12 have no home,
representing 17% of the overall homeless population.

The most common reasons people give for becoming homeless relate to
interpersonal conflict including domestic and family violence and relationship
breakdown.

39% of Australians experiencing homelessness are living in severely crowded
dwellings; 17% are staying temporarily with family and friends; 18% are living in
boarding houses and other temporary accommodation; 6% are sleeping rough on the
streets; and just 20% find a bed in the homeless service system.

A common misconception is that the homeless are mainly middle-aged or older men.
In fact, most homeless people are under 35 (60%). 44% are women.

People experiencing homelessness are more likely to suffer from severe mental
disorders than the rest of the population. The experience of homelessness can
trigger and exacerbate mental illness.

The experience of homelessness brings with it a heightened vulnerability to violence.

A lack of affordable housing is a key contributor to homelessness. There are simply
not enough accommodation options for people experiencing disadvantage and every
day Vinnies visits families who face this reality, unable to survive in the private rental
market.

Unemployment, family breakdown and drug and alcohol abuse are additional factors
that lead to homelessness.

On the best available data, just under 10,000 Western Australians are homeless
every night.