There are 53 sleeps to Vinnies CEO Sleepout when the ACT’s business and community leaders will sleep out in the cold – as far too many homeless Canberrans do – to raise funds for those less fortunate.

This year’s Sleepout is the 13th, and will take place in the concrete courtyard of the National Portrait Gallery on “the longest night” of Thursday 23 June, coinciding with the winter solstice.

“The Vinnies CEO Sleepout raises funds to address the many challenges around homelessness,” said Michelle Colefax, acting CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society of the Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn. “Around Australia, business, government, and community leaders lend their collective clout to make a difference each year.”

Last year’s Sleepout set a goal of $600,000, and raised more than $1 million. This year’s official goal is $750,000, but Ms Colefax wants to raise $800,000 this year.

“Believe me when I say we need every cent,” she told participants at the launch at the Gallery earlier this week. “This year, more than ever, we need your support to help those who need it the most in our community.”

The last two years have been challenging, and demand for Vinnies’ services has been unprecedented, she said. The branch covers the whole diocese, as far as Goulburn, Tumut, and Bateman’s Bay.

“Every day, we see and hear stories about housing affordability,” Ms Colefax said.

“People are being forced out of their homes. Domestic violence, natural disasters, insecure work, health issues – the reasons are diverse, and the issues are complex. It’s an issue 365 days of the year that we at Vinnies work hard to address, and to support those who find themselves in these challenging circumstances often at no fault of their own.”

The money raised will fund 18 different programs which “all aim to provide practical assistance with dignity, compassion, and respect,” she said. The Night Patrol brings food, clothing, sleeping bags, blankets, and hygiene packs to homeless people. The Street to Home program offers case management and outreach to those sleeping rough. The Oaks Estate Community Inclusion Program helps people with psychosocial disabilities who are ineligible for NDIS funding. And the Blue Door drop-in centre provides meals, clothing and furniture vouchers, and advice and advocacy.

Those services are only possible through generous donations from the community, Ms Colefax said.

Some executives believe so strongly in Vinnies’ good work they sleep out to raise funds year after year. For three men, this year marks their 11th sleepout: Martin Fisk, CEO of Menslink; Neville Tomkins, Chief Commissioner of Scouts Australia (NSW Branch); and Richard Faulks, managing director of Snedden Hall & Gallop.

Mr Tomkins and Mr Faulks are two of the six CEO Sleepout Champions who will spread the word and rally their fellow leaders in raising the critical funds. The others are Christine Shaw, director of Christine Shaw Properties; Antonia Marzulli, CEO of the Synergy Group; Sehida Frawley, head of SAP Cloud Success Services ANZ, SAP Australia; and Mirko Milic, dealer principal, Canberra Toyota.

Martin Fisk

“Have you noticed that there is an increasing number of rough sleepers in Civic?” Mr Fisk asked Canberra Daily. “More and more people are struggling with higher and higher costs just to live, just to put a roof over their heads.

“Vinnies helps give these people that all-important start, whether it’s through food, housing, or just giving them a little bit of hope.”

He suspects it is because of the pandemic, “absolutely runaway” rental costs, and high general living costs.

A number of years ago, for a video to promote the sleepout, he begged in the street.

“I’ve got to tell you, it is a really difficult thing to do. It is really hard, and you can very much lose hope. Some of these people need to do that every day, just to buy food.”

The funds the Sleepout raises “helps Vinnies help these people, give them a little bit of hope, give them a connection, and ultimately give them housing, food, and a job. It’s fantastic.”

In a previous job, Mr Fisk remembers, a homeless man lived under the bridge near his work. Mr Fisk started buying him coffee and sandwiches, and the two started talking. Eventually, the Vinnies Night Patrol got in touch with the man, and found him a house and a job.

“I look at the difference between sleeping under a bridge in a Canberra winter to having a job, being productive, looking after other people, and that comes down to Vinnies.”

Mr Fisk urged the community to visit the CEO Sleepout website, find a CEO they like, and donate through them to Vinnies.

“That helps Vinnies fund the Night Patrol. It helps them fund emergency housing for families. It helps them fund all of their programs that they do right across this region.”

The government should also fund Vinnies, Mr Fisk believes.

“We talk a lot about building infrastructure, but no infrastructure is more important than human infrastructure. That’s what organisations like Vinnies help build: human capital. It’s critical to our city; to our region; to our community.”

On the night of this year’s Sleepout, Mr Fisk will be down the snow – and he will sleep in the snow, without a tent. (“Subject to it not being a blizzard, of course!”)

He hopes to raise between $5,000 and $10,000.

“If I can do that this year, that will be wonderful.”