Homelessness in South Australia

As an Ambassador for the Vinnies CEO Sleepout I am pleased to be able to support people experiencing homelessness. Vinnies gets very little government funding – they rely very much on the goodwill of the community through fundraising events like the CEO Sleepout and donations from their generous supporters, to fund their comprehensive range of homelessness and homelessness prevention services across SA. Their suite of services ranges from 10 Fred’s Van sites, provision of Vinnies Assistance at 61 sites through a volunteer network, assistance through Vinnies Shops and of course the Vinnies Women’s Crisis Centre (for women, children and pets) and the Vinnies Men’s Crisis Centre.

You may well have seen the recent media about the tender process of the homelessness services across SA. Unfortunately, the Vinnies Men’s Crisis Centre is one of the services that has been caught in this process and has lost its portion of government funding. The changes to service delivery and funding coming out of the new model effectively means they will likely be unable to operate the men’s crisis centre in its current form.

Despite this, their commitment to making a difference to South Australians, including men, experiencing homelessness will continue. The people they assist remain at the core of everything they do and they will continue to provide support to those who come for help, either when they are experiencing homelessness, or at risk of becoming so.

I am committed through this Sleepout at Lot 14 to helping Vinnies ensure that their new service model continues to demonstrate their commitment to making a permanent difference for people experiencing homelessness.

Thank you again for standing with Vinnies and supporting me in this sleepout by helping us offer a hand up to the state’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

Now more than ever, they need our support.

https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundr.../clintonjury/adelaide