Sleeping out to help end homelessness
By David Spriggs
Later in June I’ll be one of about 1000 CEOs who, armed with just a beanie, a sleeping bag and a piece of cardboard, will take part in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout. The event raises funds for St Vincent De Paul programs that support people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
I am asking for your support to get behind me to raise money for the Vinnies CEO Sleepout and work to raise awareness of homelessness and its complex causes. You can make a tax deductible donation online.
As a supporter of ours, you know that Infoxchange is dedicated to using technology for social justice. What you may not know is that Infoxchange’s very first project in 1989 created an electronic database for homeless support agencies to locate available crisis accommodation for people in need.
David Spriggs
Today, homelessness remains a cause close to our hearts. We were proud to win a Google Impact Challenge grant in 2014 to develop ‘Homeless Assist’, a web app to help people who are homeless and those at risk to locate nearby food, shelter and other essential services.
It's now been more than 12 months since Infoxchange launched Ask Izzy, the mobile website that connects people who are homeless with essential support services. In that time, the largest group of people searching for housing were women and children fleeing domestic violence. With over 300K searches Australia wide, over the past 12 months Ask Izzy has helped people in crisis connect to housing, food, everyday support, money and counselling services. This is why it's so important to keep people who are homeless connected.
Homelessness can happen to anyone, but most often it happens to people who are already disadvantaged and who have little or no economic, social or emotional buffers.
Please help me support those most in need. You can make a tax-deductible contribution at my Vinnies CEO Sleepout page.
Find out more about our work in housing and homelessness.