Armidale St Louise Conference of St Vincent de Paul has received a donation from the Armidale branch of the Country Women's Association (CWA).
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The 40 brand new sleeping bags will be a welcome gift for clients who may be sleeping rough.
The sleeping bags were sourced from the national homeless charity Backpack Bed for Homeless (Swags for Homeless LTD) in Brisbane and CWA branch president Llani Pevitt said it was very pleasing to know some of the funds raised by the members were being used to fill a need within the local community.
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"We often organise fundraisers throughout the year such as market stalls, afternoon teas or selling raffle tickets, as we did at the Autumn Festival for the Armidale City Band," she said.
"We came up with the idea of contacting Backpack Bed for Homeless during a discussion we were having about homelessness to see if there was something we can do.
"A donation of sleeping bags seemed like the perfect way to help."
She said the sleeping bags are polar fleece and super warm and comfortable while being lightweight and machine washable. They are also fire retardant and come with a weatherproof blanket.
In thanking the CWA members for the donation, a representative of St Vincent de Paul, Veronica Ryan, said the donation was very much appreciated by the conference members as they strive to help people in need, especially during the harsh Armidale winter.
Mission Australia's Homelessness and Stable Housing Impact Report, released in May 2023, revealed the soaring numbers of Australians needing emergency accommodation or who are living on the streets and in cars.
Homelessness is often perceived as a metropolitan problem, however, a significant proportion of people experiencing homelessness are in regional Australia.
The risk of homelessness in rural and remote regions is extremely high due to greater likelihood of low incomes, high living costs and poor housing options relative to regional and metropolitan regions.
Vinnies is hosting the Armidale Vinnies Community sleepout again this year on August 25 and hope to raise $30,000, with all funds raised going to the Vinnies Start Fresh Community Connections Program.
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