Charity sleepbus comes to Byron Bay to help homeless community

Byron Bay by day is a picture of wealth, movie stars and celebrity influencers. By night, the story couldn’t be any more different - and that’s why an innovative and temporary solution for the homeless is on its way.

An innovative solution to drive away the woes of sleeping on the streets is coming to Byron Bay - the tourist town where prosperity and poverty meet the sea.

Sleepbus is the brainchild of Simon Rowe, a former businessman who turned his sights to curbing the night-to-night perils of being homeless.

Mr Rowe said he was inspired to start the charity when he met the “tiredest man” he’d ever seen.

The homeless man told Mr Rowe he had to sleep during the day to stay awake at night to protect himself.

This interaction spurred Mr Rowe to find temporary solutions for those acute hardships homeless residents faced to get a night of rest.

Mr Rowe even went homeless undercover to investigate the situation first-hand.

“One shelter was just really scary, there was a whole bunch of people in the one spot and mattresses on the floor,” he said.

I just thought we have to do better.”

sleepbus founder Simon Rowe with one of the charity's buses. Picture: Contributed.

What he came up with was a Japanese-style pod set-up inside buses; a mobile and secure space for homeless to come onboard for a night and rest.

“You see the human being, tired and broken, and then for one night they get a good night sleep and they’re a different looking human in the morning,” he said.

“Sleep changes everything.”

And unlike fixed shelters, sleepbus comes in at night and is gone before the work day starts, Mr Rowe said.

“It did its job but you never knew it happened,” he said.

“It’s also a reminder this isn’t a permanent solution. You can sleep but in the morning you have to go and figure out your next steps.”

The successful charity which has evolved from major capitals like Melbourne and Sydney to regional communities like Hervey Bay will head to the North Coast with the first of two buses in about three weeks.

Volunteers for the Queanbeyan Sleepbus. Picture: Contributed

Mr Rowe said the new venture had been funded by a generous Byron Bay local who is dedicated to helping the community.

He hoped the buses would also kickstart a government conversation about permanent solutions to the unusual crisis of homelessness in Byron.

Byron Bay and surrounds currently has the highest number of unhoused residents outside of Sydney and Byron Shire Council declared a housing emergency last March.

“Byron Bay is a weird one because from the (general) data about 70 per cent of rough sleepers are men and 30 per cent are women typically, but in Byron Bay there is a higher proportion of women than men and they’re a lot more visible,” he said.

“People have asked ‘why are you doing it in Byron Bay, it’s full of rich people’.

“But that’s exactly why. You’ve got second, third generation families who were there long before Byron Bay became popular and they don’t have anywhere else to live.”

Mr Rowe is also looking for volunteers and a sponsor to help staff the Byron operation and those interested can head here.