A Cold Night Feels Longer Without Shelter

With the weather getting colder lately, we spent yesterday out supporting people sleeping rough across Brisbane alongside other grassroots community groups. People needed things, so we went and bought what we could; blankets, socks, tents, tarps, clothes and other essentials, then handed them out directly to people doing it tough.

A lot of the conversations yesterday stay with you.

Some people were trying to keep their belongings dry after days of rain. Some were exhausted. Others were just grateful somebody stopped to speak to them normally. One man said "clean socks were one of the hardest things to come by", which is the kind of thing most people would never think twice about.

It is easy for homelessness to become something people scroll past or get used to seeing, but being there in person reminds you very quickly that these are real people in hard situations, especially heading into winter.

What we appreciated most was seeing different grassroots initiatives all helping in their own way. Everyone just brought what they could and got stuck in.

There is still a lot more needed across the community, and this is only a small part of it, but even small things matter when somebody is cold, wet, hungry or sleeping outside.

Thank you to everybody who donated, helped organise supplies, volunteered their time, or simply showed up yesterday. It genuinely made a difference.