Anonymous donation supports homeless shelters

A GENEROUS donor has provided immediate help for those sleeping rough in Geelong by supporting the purchase of portable bedding.

The anonymous benefactor’s $5,000 contribution allowed The Outpost Geelong to purchase 34 Backpack Beds.

The 2.9kg ergonomic backpacks are used by more than 1,100 homeless agencies across Australia.

Each Backpack Bed holds 135L of belongings and converts into a fire-retardant, waterproof, all-weather shelter with built-in mattress.

The initial donation has allowed The Outpost to almost entirely support the 37 people in Geelong who typically sleep on the street on any given night, but the aim is to raise enough money to provide a Backpack Bed to the 222 people who sleep rough in Geelong every year (according to ABS data).

“Nobody should ever sleep on our streets, bare, without shelter. Especially not while a specialised piece of equipment such as the Backpack Bed exists to save both homeless lives and creates massive tax savings to locals,” Backpack Bed for Homeless founder and chief executive officer Tony Clark said.

“While well-intentioned members of the community give what they can, paramedics tell us how the homeless die of hypothermia in their sleep – because of publicly donated doonas that are not waterproof and become wet as well as other products not suitable for the outdoors.”

He said an independent study had proven each $144 Backpack Bed created $3,319 in taxpayer savings across health, justice and employment, meaning the Geelong community would save $112,846 as a result of the $5,000 donation.

“This is a huge achievement for Geelong to celebrate.

“While a supply of Backpack Beds for every person on one night is life saving, it is critical to supply Geelong with enough Backpack Beds for every street sleeping person for an entire year.”

For more information or to donate, head to fundraise.backpackbed.org/event/goodnight-geelong