Industry CEOs to participate in Vinnies Sleepout

While the Vinnies CEO Sleepout usually takes place in centralised locations – such as cricket grounds – given the social distancing rules in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, participants will nominate their own sleep locations this year, whether that be cars, backyards and on couches.

According to Vinnies, each of these locations reflect the reality for many of the 116,000 people experiencing homelessness across the country.

The society said that while one in 14 people are sleeping rough, “many more are hidden from sight behind closed doors and nonetheless unable to find a suitable and safe place to sleep”.

This year’s event will therefore highlight the unseen homelessness issue in Australia.

Several familiar faces from the finance and mortgage industry will be taking part in the Sleepout this year, including broker directors such Simplicity Loans & Advisory director Jean-Pierre Gortan and Mortgage Choice Southport director Mark Balding.

Lender CEOs are also taking part in the fundraiser, including:

• GetCapital CEO Jamie Osborn
• Lendi CEO David Hyman
• Lumi CEO Yanir Yakutiel
• Nodifi CEO Tom Caesar 
• QBE LMI CEO Phil White

Representatives from major banks and their subsidiaries are also taking part in the Sleepout, such as the CEO of BankSA, Nick Reade.

‘It’s quite scary how quickly it can happen, and how it can happen to so many people’

Nodifi CEO Tom Caesar told The Adviser that he and his team were sleeping in their office car park to raise funds.

He commented: “Homelessness isn’t just people who are sleeping on the street, it’s people who are couch-surfing and staying over at friends’ houses to have somewhere to sleep. Many of us might know someone who is doing that now; it is such a big issue and isn’t what people necessarily think of when they think of homelessness. So, this is a great way of raising awareness of this issue. When you start looking more into the reasons behind homelessness, it’s quite scary how quickly it can happen, and how it can happen to so many people.  

“When you see the stories of how Vinnies support people to get back into secure housing and the changes that can bring them, it’s pretty incredible. So, I thought this was a great opportunity to raise some money for them and support a really good cause. It’s pretty insane what those dollars can do.”

Mr Caesar added: “This is more important than ever, as there’s going to be more job losses from COVID-19. It might not be now, it might be post-September when a lot of the support from the government is expected to cease. It would be pretty straightforward to think that homelessness is going to go up, and there will be a lot more people who won’t have a roof over their head. So, I think the tough times are really going to begin over the next six months, and it’s important we share as much as we can now.”

Lumi CEO Yanir Yakutiel agreed, stating: “It strikes me that, in a country of plenty like Australia, there is such an endemic and prevalent problem of homelessness and it just doesn’t sit with me, these rising levels of homelessness, compared to the general affluence of the rest of society.

“I think now it’s especially important given COVID-19. Everyone has become more appreciative of how important a home is, having a shelter or a place to spend a lot of time. But I think more and more families are going to be under housing stress in the coming months and unable to pay their rent or their mortgages. 

“I think we’re facing an inflection point where we’re going to see more and more people become either homeless, under-housed or living in inadequate housing, and it’s just something that, personally, saddens me,” he said.

This year, participants can also involve their partner and children, in a bid to help educate others about the growing issue of homelessness. 

Mr Yakutiel told The Adviser that he would be bringing his eight-year-old son with him for this year’s Sleepout, with the father-son duo intending to sleep in a local park in Sydney.

He said: “It’s really important for me that he comes with me. I think it’s a good father-and son experience to do together, but more importantly I think it’s really important to educate him at a very young age to show not only how lucky he is but how unfair life outcomes can be... and therefore how important it is to help others that are less fortunate.”

Likewise, GetCapital CEO Jamie Osborn said he would be joined by his 13-year-old daughter as they sleep out on the streets of North Sydney on 18 June.

Mr Osborn said that for him, “the most important part of the evening is those three to four hours that Vinnies do a really, really good job of giving participants a deep appreciation of the problem of homelessness by getting you into small groups and interacting with people that are experiencing homelessness and hearing stories from people that have been homeless about how they transitioned back into society”.

Mr Osborn said that over the past three years he has done the Sleepout, he had learned that “almost without exception, the people that you meet experiencing homelessness were, in the not too distant past, living a middle-class lifestyle and through a series of mishaps, misfortune (sometimes based on poor judgement, but often not), they find themselves sleeping rough or homeless... 

“So, it really can happen to anyone. Almost anyone in society is just a couple of steps away from the predicament they find themselves in.”

He continued: “The second thing is how hard it is to claw your way out of homelessness. The deck is firmly stacked against you, and there are these negative feedback loops that conspire to push you down,” he said, noting that in order to access government support services, for example, you need a permanent address.

“There are these catch-22s everywhere. And therefore, I think that institutions like Vinnies are really, really important to help guide people back out of homelessness and into society… they have the resources in order to make a difference at that individual level. And they have the resources because of events like the CEO Sleepout and other fundraising events, and that is why I think it’s important if you can please, please donate and contribute,” the GetCapital CEO stated.

Call for finance industry participants

Vinnies said it was “warmly inviting finance professionals to sign up for the Vinnies CEO Sleepout”, stating registrations are still open to all C-suite and executive-level professionals, including small business and community leaders. 

Unlike in previous years, in recognition of the financial impact of coronavirus, there is no minimum fundraising expectation for this year’s participants.

Vinnies NSW CEO Jack de Groot commented that funds raised from the 2019 Vinnies CEO Sleepout enabled the organisation to provide 620 hot meals every day at the Matthew Talbot Hostel, medical treatment for people experiencing physical and mental challenges, and deliver programs such as life skills so that people are able to get back on their feet.

“COVID-19 has changed the way we live our lives, but unfortunately poverty and homelessness remain depressingly relevant for a large portion of the population,” he said.

“I will be sleeping out in Sydney on 18 June, and I hope CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs and leaders from all sectors and walks of life will join me to raise money for homelessness services at a time when it’s desperately needed.”

Participants will be live streaming through their phones, tablets or computers to join an interactive broadcast on the 18 June.

You can register or donate to the Vinnies CEO Sleepout at www.ceosleepout.org.au

[Related: A cause for celebration: How brokers are giving back]