Sleeping overnight on an office floor is the last thing anyone would want to do in their spare time, but it’s what Emily Wood and her team will be doing this month to help end homelessness.
Ms Wood, who is executive general manager of development with Frasers Property Australia, and her team will be sleeping over at their Sydney and Melbourne offices for A Night Without Home on October 8.
“The plan is for us to come together, go without a few of those creature comforts for the evening, not that we think in any way that replicates what the experience is (for) people living with homelessness,” Ms Wood said.
“It’s just a small thing we can do to educate on what homelessness is in Australia.”
Ms Wood said the team’s goal was to raise $10,000 for the charity, but after hitting that mark, they may change the goal post to $20,000.
A Night Without Home is an annual fundraiser held by A Home For All Foundation every October, encouraging Australians to spend a night without home comforts to raise awareness and funds to help end homelessness.
All of the funds raised by A Home For All Foundation goes to charities working on the ground across Australia to support people experiencing homelessness due to domestic and family violence.
It’s an important issue for Ms Wood, with one particular statistic around homelessness that really hits hard.
Frasers Property Australia's Emily Wood and her team with participate in an office sleepover to raise funds to help end homelessness. Picture: Supplied
Nearly a quarter of all people experiencing homelessness in Australia are young people aged 12 to 24, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
As a mum of three, Ms Wood said that statistic was staggering.
When Ms Wood became aware of A Home for All and was asked to join the foundation on the advisory board last year, she jumped at the opportunity.
“For me, there were a couple of reasons why I was really passionate about that,” she said.
“It aligns personally with a lot of values for me, but also for Frasers in terms of what we do as a business.
Join the movement, for a home for all
This October, A Home for All Foundation is raising funds to help end homelessness in Australia. Every dollar goes directly to the cause, because everyone deserves a place to call home.
“We’re really driven by the belief that we exist as a company to create belonging and connection… and so there was just a really natural fit for us to want to be a part of this, but also doing our part for lending our voice to amplify education around what is homelessness (and to) raise some money.”
The homelessness crisis is confronting, and getting worse.
According to 2021 Census figures, around 122,000 Australians are experiencing homelessness on any given night.
Meanwhile, one in 10 Australians are at risk of becoming homeless.
Overall, 94% of those experiencing homelessness aren’t sleeping rough. They’re couch surfing, living in cars, or moving through temporary accommodation.
A Night Without Home is aiming to raise $1 million for homelessness services and support this month.
“I think the really scary thing is that Census data is a few years old now,” Ms Wood said.
“Obviously we’ve just done the latest Census and I think we’re all just bracing for what that statistic might bear this time around, knowing the last couple of years and what’s happened from a cost-a-living crisis.
“That’s probably going to get worse, which is the scary thing.”
To address the issue, A Home for All Foundation aims to unite the property industry to help end homelessness.
Supported by leading industry voices across Australia, the foundation’s goal is to drive awareness, raise funds and build long-term change for people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.
“I was really surprised at how engaged and how willing people were to get onboard with it,” Ms Wood said.
“With the cost of living crisis and… the homelessness situation escalating, I think it’s a great cause that people, even if they don’t have a lot of money that they can invest, they can invest their time in raising awareness and hoping to raise some money.
“Sometimes (it) can feel really overwhelming because it’s such an enormous problem. You feel like, what can you actually do to really influence that?
“The great thing about this is, it’s starting where we can, which is around awareness and raising much needed funds to go to those front lines.”
As part of the campaign, participants can choose their challenge – sleep in a car, spend a night on a friend’s couch, hold an office overnighter with their team, or go without everyday home comforts to support organisations working to end homelessness in Australia.
About 122,000 Australians experience homelessness on any given night, according to 2021 Census figures.
Last year in its inaugural year, the Foundation raised more than $1 million through the campaign, with funds distributed to four charity partners working at the intersection of homelessness and domestic violence.
Registrations for the A Night Without Home fundraiser have opened, with many participants uniting on Thursday 8 October to mark the event ahead of World Homelessness Day on 10 October.
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