Why I'm Taking Part In The Vinnies CEO Sleepout Tonight

I was 19 when I first sat down and had a coffee with a homeless man.

I had witnessed a gorgeous moment occur a few weeks previously when my friend, Cameron, had done just that, and so I built up the courage to do the same.

I remember feeling so scared and vulnerable.

Ironic, really.

As you sit there and talk with someone sleeping rough, you realise that all it takes is a few unfortunate events to go from having a roof over your head to living on the street. Sickness, family issues, job circumstances, financial challenges, depression….. Most of us know the feeling of handing out CVs and getting rejected, or relying on your bank overdraft to get you to the next week, or generous parents. We all have varying degrees of fall back options as we navigate a sometimes unforgiving world. These men and women have simply just worked through their fall back options, or had none at all with which to begin.

Tomorrow night, Emily and I will be swapping our warm beds for a concrete slab and cardboard box as we sleep rough at the 2016 Vinnies CEO Sleepout. We’re raising a bit of money and here is our donation page.

https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/ceos/nsw-ceos/bridget-loudon/

However, even more than a money donation, I'd love if you could extend a gesture of kindness to someone sleeping rough, as you go about your daily business.

If you’re on your way to get a coffee, perhaps ask them if they’d like one Too? Perhaps ask them if they're one of those types who order a half-full skim soy. You’ll be surprised how you can give someone a hot drink, a much needed laugh and a sense of dignity for a brief while.

What I have realised over the years is that helping out doesn't always leave you with this warm, gooey Christmasy feeling. Sometimes the heavens do not open up a give you a little pat on the back but rather an awkward stare. A little while ago I was buying a burrito on the way home from work. I bought one for a homeless man across the road. I gave it to him and returned inside to eat mine. I felt a little warm and fuzzy knowing he was about to have the best burrito on the planet. From inside, I watched him take out an iPhone, play games and put the burrito in the bin. I just laughed. What can you do?

The lesson of course is that you should not buy delicious burritos for homeless men with iPhones - they will be deeply ungrateful and too busy crushing candy. (Just kidding, 99.9% of the time the burrito will be appreciated.)

Naturally, I think the most common outcome is that you and your giftee have an unexpectedly beautiful moment and one person's life, is for sure, ceteris paribus, better off.

A few weeks ago, my Mum and I had a picnic. We had divine leftovers and gave them to a young lad who was sleeping behind Bondi pavilion. As I started to walk away. He called me back. He had poured all the food out onto some paper so he could give me back my take-away containers.

Outdated but practically new Apple products are a great gift for someone on the street. The Apple store staff are usually awesome at allowing homeless people to charge devices and use Wifi. It’s also great if you can show them some apps that might be helpful such as Safari, Seek, Airtasker etc. and set them up with a new gmail if they don’t have one as they won’t be able to set up any accounts.

On the other hand, a bar of chocolate and a "how was your day?" can be a godsend.

Nothing is too much or too little.

If all you have is 60 seconds for small talk - go for it.

I wish I didn’t but I still have to muster up the courage to break out of my stride and the social constructs of “us vs. them” every time I stop, even just to say hello. In time, I hope awkwardness, embarrassment or time-poverty will not come between us and doing something great for those in need.

Your gift of anything to someone sleeping rough (110,000 Australians on any given night) would be the most perfect donation to our Vinnies CEO sleep out.