Sleepout provides hope for the homeless

THE Bendigo Executive and Director Sleepout (BEDS) event on Wednesday night did far more than raise $60,000 for St Luke's work with homeless youth.

While that in itself is a great achievement, the true benefit of the event was that it cemented public awareness of the reality of the problem and, as a result, has generated a public and shared commitment to find solutions.

We can all be very proud of the fact that 140-plus of our town's business and community leaders listened in rapt, and at times tearful, silence to young peoples' stories of struggle and hope. And they took action.

Pledges to fix cars, offer work experience and provide board are the beginning of a renewed community response.

The success of the night started with a strong partnership that began six months ago between the City of Greater Bendigo, Strategem Financial Services and St Luke's. Major sponsors including the Bendigo Advertiser, Craig Dunn at Filthy Monkey and Happy Landings came on board, along with a great many others.

On behalf of St Luke's board and staff I would particularly like to thank David Richardson, CEO of Stratagem and Mayor Rod Campbell, for their vision of a fairer community and their leadership.

And while the 140-plus "bedheads" are too many to mention, they and a complete list of sponsors and supporters are all profiled on www.beds.org.au

BEDS has reinforced, once again, that this community is very special.

DAVID PUGH,

CEO, St Luke's