Community unites for Blanket Geelong appeal

A GROUP of volunteers last week covered the Kardinia Park Netball courts with hundreds of blankets to raise awareness for homelessness across the region.

The initiative, known as Blanket Geelong, was spearheaded by local radio presenter Leroy Brown and his breakfast show team at 96three, who sought blanket donations from the community in the lead up to the event.

The approximately 500 donated blankets were then laid out across the playing surface of one of Kardinia Park’s netball courts in the early hours of Friday last week.

“I’m pretty passionate about the eradication of homelessness,” Mr Brown said.

“I wanted to put something together that’s going to help in that space, and I wanted to bring all the community outreach projects… together as one.

“It takes a village.”

After the event, the blankets were divided between the region’s community outreach organisations, including The Outpost, SalvoConnect, Lazarus Community Centre and Samaritan House.

Mr Brown first started the Blanket Geelong initiative in 2012 during his time at radio station K rock and has previously blanketed other locations including the Geelong Arena, Cunningham Pier and the National Wool Museum.

“For me it was a no-brainer. We haven’t done it in this city for probably 10 or 11 years and I thought, now’s another great opportunity to have a crack at this,” he said.

“We’re getting into the colder days and that helps with the awareness because people feel it.

“Something like this will help in this space, but I think all the focus really needs to be shifted on the amazing work organisations do, like SalvoConnect, The Outpost, Lazaurus Community Centre – they’re all working together and they’re all doing a wonderful job.”

The Outpost vice chairwoman Amy Flint said Blanket Geelong was a “fantastic initiative” that gave the community an opportunity to support those in need.

“The Outpost is the last stop for everybody in the evening [and now] we actually know that we’re able to supply blankets to people, so that they’re not going cold into the night and sleeping on the cold, hard ground,” she said.

Ms Flint said the rising cost of living was driving new faces through the organisation’s doors.

“I probably get about five calls a day from people seeking food vouchers – the Give Where You Live food vouchers – that have not had access to any services before,” she said.

“It’s a challenging time in the community, both with our existing guys going into winter, but also a brand-new cohort of people coming through that either haven’t, or don’t know how, to access support services.”

While the organisation now has enough blankets for those who need them this winter, Ms Flint said The Outpost was always seeking volunteers able to commit to ongoing, regular shifts to help create a sense of community for those using the service.

To learn more about The Outpost, head to outpostgeelong.com.au

The blankets were divided between the region’s community outreach organisations, including SalvoConnect, The Outpost, Lazarus Community Centre and Samaritan House.