Sitting outside on a cold night, Dr Stephen Lising began crying as he realised the desperation, frustration and embarrassment homeless people feel every day in Canberra.
It was 2018 and he was doing an interactive exercise as part of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, reading a script of a woman forced to flee domestic violence with her children, leaving everything, including her wallet, behind.
As a father of three, having to pretend to beg for food, money, and shelter to protect children provided him with a glimpse of what over 1,000 Canberrans face every day.
“That really hit hard for me, because that brought home that homeless people are actually kids … they are kids who, a few months ago, may have had a perfectly happy life,” he said.
Five years later, Dr Lising is one of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout Champions, personally raising more than $50,000 for the charity to date.
Tonight, Thursday 17 June, business, government and community leaders across the Canberra/Goulburn region will be gathering on one of the longest nights of the year to help change the lives of Australians experiencing homelessness.
Dr Lising will be sleeping rough at the National Arboretum, but he admits the very first time he did the sleepout in 2013, it was so freezing cold he swore he would never do it again.
“It wasn’t until I was driving to work in 2018 and it was all frosty outside and I heard on the radio that the Sleepout was on again that I thought ‘No, the reason I should be doing it is it’s actually helping others’.”
According to the latest ABS Census data, 1,596 ACT residents were homeless on census night in 2016, including 351 young people aged 12-24 years.
Last year when the CEO Sleepout moved to participants’ homes in response to COVID-19, Dr Lising asked his wife, Dr Ann Duong, and their 12-year-old son, Oliver, to join him to learn what it’s like to sleep rough. This year, the couple’s young daughters will be joining in as well.
“Ann is going to be sleeping in the car with the three kids … hopefully this year, my girls will also gain an understanding of homelessness and how to be charitable,” he said.
Also joining Dr Lising are 11 staff members from Preventive Dentistry who will be sleeping outside, in cars and at the dental practice. The team has raised over $80,000 for Vinnies over five years.
“I joined the practice when I was 23 years old and that was in 1997, so I’ve actually worked in this practice, for half of my life… Our staff are like a big family,” he said.
In total the Preventive Dentistry has raised over $80,000 for Vinnies over five years.
While Barnie van Wyk, CEO of St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn, said that following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 he was dreading the release of homeless and poverty figures, Dr Lising is still optimistic about helping those who need it.
“It makes me feel like I’ve really made a difference to a lot of people and that’s what you hope for in life, to be remembered for something.” he said.
Visit ceosleepout.org.au to donate.
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