Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
More than $21,300 was raised on Friday night as local leaders swapped comfort for concrete during Safe Sleep Mackay’s inaugural Bosses on Buses event.
Eleven community leaders took part in the initiative, sleeping rough for the night to help raise funds to operationalise the Safe Sleep Buses, which aim to support people experiencing homelessness in Mackay.
Participants included:
The leaders spent the night sleeping rough, some on the bus and others on the concrete, before all making it to breakfast the following morning.
Founder of Chances House, Kayleigh Brewster, said the initiative was inspired by the difficult reality frontline workers often face when supporting people without shelter, with the aim of creating a temporary solution while supporting people’s wellbeing.
“When you're working in those really on-the-ground frontline services, you see a lot of people who are homeless,” she said.
“Quite often you're having to tell somebody there’s no more we can do for you, you’re going to have to sleep outside tonight. It’s a terrifying thought.
“We wanted a solution that would alleviate that.
“I think this is going to be fantastic. I think it’s going to really make a difference in the physical, the mental and the emotional well-being of many people.”
Safe Sleep Mackay spokesperson and key advocate for those sleeping rough, Lisa Jamieson, said strong community backing would be essential for the service to succeed.
“This is just wonderful to have so much support from our community and local businesses here,” she said.
“We’re still going to need ongoing support and we definitely need volunteers but we’re going to give it 100 per cent to help those who need it.”
Dave Fisher from Gardian said he was proud to be involved in the community effort.
“Having to be part of a community movement to raise money and to be aware of what is a real issue… I’m just really happy to support that really important initiative,” he said.
Fallon Drewett from The Just Saying Project said conversations with her family motivated her to get involved.
“It’s about awareness. If we don’t tell the stories of people, the most vulnerable people in our community, how else are we going to improve that?” she said.
Organisers thanked the Mackay West Rotary group for cooking breakfast and Harrup Park for supplying dinner, along with the many community members who donated to support the cause.
Eleven Mackay community leaders slept rough during the inaugural Bosses on Buses event, raising more than $21,300 to help operationalise Safe Sleep Buses supporting people experiencing homelessness. Photo credit: Hannah McNamara
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