Community
19 August, 2026
Community sleepout to help fight homelessness
Local residents are being asked to throw their support behind the St Vincent de Paul Society’s annual Southern Highlands community sleepout on Friday, August 28.
Local residents are being asked to throw their support behind the St Vincent de Paul Society’s annual Southern Highlands community sleepout on Friday, August 28.
This year’s sleepout will be held at the St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish Primary School, raising money to support those people in the community experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Community sleepout events are held across NSW during the winter months with business and community representatives spending a night in the cold to help raise much-needed funds.
Organisers of this year’s event in the Southern Highlands are hoping to raise $14,000.
The money will be used to facilitate the continuation and expansion of programs and services that help to prevent homelessness through emergency relief and financial assistance and that address social isolation through support, advocacy and referral.
“Homelessness doesn’t just happen because of one thing,” coordinator of this year’s event Nat Nicastri said.
“It can be so many of life’s pressures which can ultimately lead to individuals and families finding themselves without a safe place to call home.”
There are a number of ways people can get involved.
They can register as a participant and take part in the sleepout themselves, they can make a donation or they can sponsor one of those people who have already signed up to participate.
The St Vincent de Paul Society – fondly known as Vinnies – is a volunteer-driven organisation firmly anchored in the community.
It has been transforming the lives of people experiencing disadvantage and hardship across Australia for the past 165 years.
For more information about this year’s sleepout or to make a donation visit https://my.fundraise.vinniesnsw.org.au/southern-highlands-vinnies-community-sleepout-2026
Coordinator Nat Nicastri can be contacted via email at Nat.Nicastri@vinnies.org.au
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