Community members are invited to spend a night at St Mary’s Catholic Church for an event to raise money and awareness for local homelessness issues.

The church will host the Cold Reality Rural Homelessness Awareness Night Sleep Out in collaboration with U-choose Independent Support Services and Echuca Moama Community Projects.

From 6pm on Friday, August 29, residents can roll out a mattress or swag in an outdoor sleeping area, or opt to spend the night inside the church.

U-choose program manager Sallyanne Dobson said guest speakers had been organised to shed light on the extent of homelessness in the region.

Echuca Neighbourhood House manager Sarah Peake, A Room for U manager Sally Hillman and Anglicare Victoria’s Melissa O’Grady will provide informative talks.

“Those were the kind of people we really wanted — people who know exactly what’s going on, and see and talk to the people doing it tough,” Ms Dobson said.

“We also want a lot of information for people who are going to walk past or come in around where to get things, services, or people to talk to.”

Ms Dobson said she hoped the speakers would help put a face to local services, and be able to break down stigmas associated with homelessness.

The idea for the initiative was formed a few months ago when U-choose got involved with the recent Coat and Blanket Drive.

Invited by Julie Langdon of Echuca Moama Community Projects, the service’s participants contributed meals to the drive’s soup kitchen, and met those experiencing hardship.

“That’s how it all came about. We saw people walking in feeling comfortable to come and have a chat with us and our staff, and we heard so many stories,” Ms Dobson said.

“There’s a big, wide range of people in need, and for different reasons. It’s just a lot of different stories, from elderly to young people.”

With help from Sage and Rob Wiltshire from Epicentre Church, who have contributed generously to the event, a plan came together in a few short months.

Since making the event public, Ms Dobson said the number of donations from the community had been huge, including vouchers from hairdressers and laundromats.

Donated items, such as clothing, hygiene products and blankets, will be laid out and packaged into backpacks and carry bags on the night by participants.

The bags will be given to services and individuals, and highlight the amount of essentials people experiencing homelessness need to carry with them.

A tarpaulin will be set up outside St Mary’s Parish Centre, and participants are asked to bring their own good-quality bedding for the night.

Ms Dobson, who will sleep outside on the night, encouraged everyone to attend, even just to say hello.

“But we really want people to rough it and get the full picture of how freezing cold it is,” she said.

“I’ve got a hip replacement, so if I can sleep on the ground, I think everyone else should do it too.”

Bamawm Extension Fire Brigade will hold a barbecue on the night and collect gold coin donations, and guest speakers will begin around 7pm.

Echuca police will help supervise the event throughout the night, which is set to finish at 8.30am on Saturday, August 30.

For more information and to register, phone U-choose on 4410 8243 or head to 224 Anstruther St, Echuca from 6pm on Friday.

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