News

Recently, five Wesley Mission Supported Accommodation people walked the streets of the Sydney Local Government Area counting people sleeping rough. Justin Bennett, Craig Kelly, Steve Richards, David Allen, Rob Seaton and Don Walker were part of a group of 170 people who donned fluorescent yellow safety vests and carried clip boards and torches to help the City of Sydney check the progress of its 10 year strategy for dealing with homelessness.

The participants were people of different ages, from various organisations, backgrounds and communities with a compassion for the homeless. They gave their time to research a quiet City of Sydney in the early morning hours, where rough sleepers were easily identified and not hidden by the usual traffic and crowds.

The activity involved making a note of the exact location of rough sleepers whilst not intruding into their personal space, nor waking or disturbing them. Help was offered to any rough sleeper in need.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports, "The preliminary count found 332 people sleeping rough, not including squats and caves, about the same number as in August. The figure will be supplemented by a count by State Rail of the homeless on stations and in trains and by numbers from homeless hostels."

Steve, who works at Edward Eagar Lodge as a Welfare Worker and studies Social Work, sees what the City of Sydney is doing about homelessness as an important initiative, and wanted to be involved in the research.

Although it threw off the internal clocks of the five men, it was a worthwhile learning and networking experience.

If you would like a new experience in August later this year, contact David Allen by email david.allen@wesleymission.org.au for further information.