Chilly night for a good cause

The annual event raises funds and awareness towards the plight of homelessness in Australia.

Mr Heeney joined about 80 other participants at the South Melbourne markets.

Keeping the sleepout as realistic as possible, Mr Heeney only had a sleeping bag and a piece of cardboard.

‘‘The most profound part of this experience has been meeting people who are experiencing homelessness and hearing their stories,’’ Mr Heeney said.

‘‘It was the first time I have slept rough and it was extremely cold. For me it was one night but the hard part is knowing there are people in our community who do this every night with nothing.

‘‘I luckily had a sleeping bag and some cardboard. It really makes you consider the people in our society who experience homelessness.’’

To better understand homelessness, Mr Heeney met Berry Street students Aaron Wells, Zane Cannon and Chloe Bryant, who shared their stories of experiencing homelessness.

‘‘The challenges these students experience was far beyond what many of us experience or understand,’’ Mr Heeney said.

‘‘That is why this initiative is so important, whilst obviously to raise funds, but importantly to raise awareness.’’

‘‘Our GOTAFE VCAL students put together a video message of support that was really meaningful. 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 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.

‘‘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.

‘‘I sincerely thank those who contributed to this cause as part of my experience.

Mr Heeney hoped the public could gain a broader knowledge with the issues faced around homelessness.

‘‘For me locally it’s about raising awareness within our region,’’ he said.

‘‘Education is hard enough and couple that with the risk of homelessness or even experiencing homelessness can make it impossible.

‘‘Education can be a life changer for many people, so given that, I’m keen to shine some light on the issue.

‘‘We must have some conversations on how we can support people to either get out of that space or not get into it.

‘‘It’s not just sleeping outside but also the safety risk they also experience.’’

According to St Vincent de Paul, there are more than 116000 people experiencing homelessness across Australia.

Last year, the CEO Sleepout raised $6.9million nationwide and has already raised $5.3million this year.