Esperance bosses not looking so fresh the morning after. Photo: ECS.
When Esperance Care Services assistant manager Tim Currie laid out his cardboard boxes, little foam mat and blanket under the covered picnic tables on Taylor Street, he knew he was in for a rough night.
“I slept terrible — the concrete was very hard and the cardboard boxes didn’t do their job,” Mr Currie said.
“You just can’t imagine having to do that night after night with your house on your back — even just a couple of items underneath you is uncomfortable so imagine having to try and find a comfy night’s sleep every night, having to carry around equipment.
“I could not do that every night.”
Mr Currie was one of 11 Esperance bosses who raised a total of $26,000 as part of the “Bosses in Blankets” sleepout on Friday, August 8.
The charity event increased awareness of homelessness in town while raising money for emergency relief services, like food hampers.
“We are really happy with the result and really appreciative of all the people that donated their time and the funds and all the support,” he said.
The cold night started with a barbecue at the bus shelter where ECS runs its weekly free dinners.
He said participants set up camp before engaging in discussions about homelessness, guided by himself, ECS chief executive Chris Meyers and ECS emergency relief officer Veronica Lavars.
“I hope we shared some realities of what some people face daily,” he said.
“Some of the people may not be aware what we do to support people in the community so it was good to start some conversations about how bad homelessness is and the rental crisis and cost of living.”
“It opened some eyes to what we do [at ECS].”
Mr Currie said despite some major sleep disturbances, the night was a success.
“We couldn’t have asked for better weather for the night,” he said.
“I think a few people got a couple hours sleep — very broken sleep though.
“We woke up for the beautiful sunrise and we were all home just after seven.
“Saturday was a bit of a right-off.”
The event was held during National Homelessness week which ran from August 4 – 10.
Mr Currie said ECS hoped it would become an annual event.
