Vinnies CEO Sleepout sets ambitious $100k fundraising figure amid troubling homeless rates

A who’s who of influential Territorians will spend a night at a “haunted” NT landmark for a good cause, and one that for Sarah Fowler hits particularly close to home.

Coming up to her fourth Vinnies CEO Sleepout at the spooky Fannie Bay Gaol, Sarah Fowler said ghosts worried her less than the Territory’s alarming rate of homelessness.

It is a problem she is intimately familiar with as the chief executive of Kentish Lifelong Learning Care, which cares for more than 280 children living away from home.

Once they turn independent at 18, they may be forced to wait up to six years for public housing according to Ms Fowler.

Kentish Lifelong Learning and Care chief executive Sarah Fowler (right) with members of her team at Fannie Bay Gaol ahead of the 2024 Vinnies' CEO Sleepout. Picture: George Yankovich

“It’s tough especially when you’ve been in foster care your entire life,” she said.

“Often you’re having to couch surf and stay with friends but there’s no certainty about the future.

“Of course we want to be out here to raise awareness about it, but people are also more likely to donate to support homelessness relief because we’re doing this.”

Eighteen years running, the last CEO Sleepout raised $8.9 million across the country with 1500 taking part.

The who’s who of influential Territorians, including business and government leaders, will sleep rough on Thursday, June 20 with no more than a sleeping bag, a cardboard mattress and soup for sustenance.

This year’s participants include Police Commissioner Michael Murphy, Solomon MP Luke Gosling and Property Council NT chief Ruth Palmer.

St Vincent de Paul Society NT president Jocelyn Cull said the initiative allowed decision-makers in society to better understand homelessness and encouraged action from the top.

St Vincent de Paul Society NT president Jocelyn Cull said Vinnies is aiming to raise $100,000 from this year’s sleepout. Picture: George Yankovich

“There are people who come back time and time again because they have big hearts and want to make a difference,” Ms Cull said.

“We have to set the bar for how we want to be as a society, and part of that is giving key people in society the chance to be part of that call for change.”

She said Vinnies was aiming to raise at least $100,000 from fundraising by participants.

Workplaces can registers through the organisation’s website.

The Territory has the highest rate of homelessness across the country at 560 people per every 10,000, in large part due to overcrowding in remote communities.

Comparatively, the second highest state or territory is Victoria at 47 people per 10,000.

The 2024 federal budget more than doubled spending on homelessness relief, from $22m last financial year to $56m.