MORE than 80 business, community and government leaders slept without shelter last Thursday, June 20 in a bid to raise awareness and to help change the lives of Australians experiencing homelessness.
The CEO Sleepout is an annual event which allows participants to hear first-hand from people experiencing homelessness and to experience what some people endure each and every night.
Joining the fight against homelessness was Shepparton GOTAFE CEO, Travis Heeney. Mr Heeney joined the initiative after he was alarmed to hear that more than 320 people were homeless in Shepparton and that more than 5,500 people were living in poverty across the region.
“As business leaders, it’s important to do all we can to highlight the plight of the most vulnerable members of our community,” Mr Heeney said.
“Through our actions and fundraising efforts, we hope to help improve the lives of those who live within our communities.”
Armed with little more than a sleeping bag and a piece of cardboard to cover the cold concrete ground, Mr Heeney rugged up rough in solidarity of homelessness and to raise awareness.
“Last night was the first time I have slept rough. It was extremely cold,” Mr Heeney said.
“For me, it was just one night, but the hard part is knowing that there are people in our community who do this every night with nothing. I was lucky I had a sleeping bag and some cardboard.”
Mr Heeney said that the most profound part of the experience had been meeting the people who are experiencing homelessness and hearing their stories. The awareness-raising aspect of the CEO Sleepout is imperative to generating more understanding around homelessness in Shepparton and is something that’s important to the work of local GOTAFE VCAL students.
“Our students put together a video message of support that was really meaningful,” Mr Heeney explained.
“In it, they said that each year in every VCAL class, at each of our campuses, there are one or more students that are affected by homelessness. They wanted to let me know that they supported me in raising funds to help tackle the issue of homelessness. This really drove home the importance of participating in this event and doing all we can to highlight this issue.”
The 2019 Vinnies CEO Sleepout will see funds raised used to assist the St Vincent De Paul Society with projects across Victoria. This year, Vinnie’s fundraising goal for the Melbourne CEO Sleepout was $1.1 million and so far, that number has already been topped, with $1.3 million in funds already raised. This figure will contribute to the current total of $7.3 million raised across 11 CEO Sleepouts nationally.
Mr Heeney said, “I have found the whole experience to be truly humbling and glad to have done my part in highlighting this issue and raising much needed funds. As part of the work for our social justice charter, this issue will be one we will continue to shine awareness on within the communities that GOTAFE operates in.
“I sincerely thank those who contributed to this cause as part of my experience.”
Travis Heeney’s fundraising tally currently stands at $6,986. If you want to still donate, you can do so by visiting www.ceosleepout.org.au/sponsor?kw+travis+heeney
