Last year, the Canberra/Goulburn St Vincent de Paul Society responded to 19,400 requests for emergency relief, provided 67,000 meals and delivered over 70 tonnes of food in partnership with OzHarvest.

“And that’s just us,” says Canberra/Goulburn St Vincent de Paul Society CEO of the past four years, Ms Lucy Hohnen.

“There are other organisations also providing these services.”

Ms Hohnen added that one in every 116 Canberrans accessed a homelessness service last year.

“That’s around 4,000 Canberrans,” she says.

With the cost-of-living crisis already in full swing prior to the onset of the Iran War, and the subsequent impact on fuel prices, these numbers are likely to climb significantly.

To continue addressing the growing needs of Australians for crisis support, especially in the area of homelessness, St Vincent de Paul is gearing up to stage its national annual major fundraiser, the Vinnies CEO Sleepout.

At the time of writing, there have been 710 CEOs registered nationally for the event, which this year in Canberra will be held on 18 June at the Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD) at Old Parliament House.

In 2025, the event raised $9,486,200 nationally, with $890,000 raised in the ACT.

This year, it needs to be more.

Canberra’s business and community leaders are therefore once again being called to step up in the fight against homelessness, with the official launch of the 2026 Vinnies CEO Sleepout to be held on Tuesday 24 March 2026 at the Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD), Old Parliament House.

Ms Hohnen says the organisation is very grateful to both the CEOs who return year after year to raise awareness and funds, and those taking part in their first ‘sleepout’ this year.

“I also want to say a big thank you to all those who continue to purchase goods via Vinnies stores, and to our volunteers who make such a difference across a range of programs,” she says.

 Whilst part of these combined efforts is due to what Ms Hohnen describes as the “well-known generosity of Canberrans,” she also believes that the issues of homelessness and crisis are becoming nearer to home for more Canberrans.

“I think it’s impacting people who you know now,” she says.

“Beyond our stereotypical charity client, we’re seeing more presentations from people who have never contemplated having to approach a charity before …and I think homelessness is very real for many people now.”

Ms Hohnen also reminds people that behind every statistic there is an individual or family.

And this year, alongside Ms Hohnen at today’s launch event, will be one of those individuals, first-time ‘Sleepout CEO’ Jonny Warren.

Jonny is a local real estate entrepreneur, Vinnies ambassador, and advocate with lived experience of homelessness.

Now a successful businessman, husband, father and stepfather of three, Jonny testifies as to how easy it is for someone to become homeless.

He decided recently that it was time to share his story, if in some way it may help others.

Around 2009, after moving to Perth, Mr Warren found himself in the grip of an ice (crystal methamphetamine) addiction and living rough.

“Over those years of living in Perth, I became addicted to ice and so, you know … sort of lost connection with my family, including my mum,” he says.

During that time, Mr Warren says he “slept on the beach, bus shelters, and friends’ couches,” until his mum, Ann, travelled to Perth and found him.

This was after 18–24 months of Mr Warren not being in contact with her or his family.

At the time, but unknown to Mr Warren, his mum had been living with terminal brain cancer.

“Mum gave me two options that day,” he says.

“I could either stay on my current journey or go home and look after her.

“The next day I went home with Mum.”

Mr Warren says that this is when his life changed.

“We went on a cruise, and then I got myself clean with my mum and two brothers, and the rest is history,” he says.

Sadly, Ann died in 2014, not long after Mr Warren started his career in real estate.

Mr Warren says that the reason he is stepping up to be part of the CEO Sleepout is that he knows homelessness can happen to anyone, and that there are many factors that contribute to it.

“A lot of people who are homeless have got drug addictions, or have had businesses and lost everything,” he says.

“And it’s just to show people that whatever hardship anyone is in, the most important thing to know is that there is a way out when you have the right people around you.”

Mr Warren’s mum wrote him a letter just before she died, which was framed by his wife and business partner Belinda, and now hangs on his office wall.

Part of the letter reads, ‘I couldn’t be prouder of you. You’ve had trials to overcome. And you’ve proven to yourself that you could do it.’

Mr Warren adds, “The CEO Sleepout shines a light on the realities people face and funds the services that can genuinely change lives. I am proud to stand with Vinnies to encourage leaders to be part of that change.”

“Homelessness is closer than many people realise, and it doesn’t define a person’s future,” he says.

St Vincent de Paul provides a number of ‘wraparound’ case management services which support people living rough, to address the drivers of their homelessness so that their futures, like Mr Warren’s, can be different.

“We’ll work with people to address the other complexities in their life,” says Ms Hohen.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a mum like Ann.

But through the CEO Sleepout, perhaps we can all step up to continue her legacy.

The Vinnies CEO Sleepout ACT will take place on Thursday 18 June at MoAD, when local leaders will spend a night sleeping outdoors to raise funds and awareness for homelessness services across Canberra and the surrounding region.

For more information or to register: ACT | Events | Vinnies CEO Sleepout