Leaders sleep rough at South Melbourne Market to fight homelessness

Dozens of Victoria’s top executives swapped suits for sleeping bags on June 19 as part of the 2025 Vinnies CEO Sleepout, held this year in the car park of South Melbourne Market.

The powerful annual event raised more than $1.3 million in Victoria, and $8.6 million nationally, to support people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity.

Funds raised from the Victorian event will directly support the St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria’s Soup Van network, a vital service that has seen demand surge by 35 per cent in parts of Melbourne. The vans provide a lifeline to thousands each year, serving more than 810,000 meals annually across six locations in Victoria.

Participants in the CEO Sleepout experienced a cold night on concrete and cardboard – a symbolic gesture that raised awareness of the growing homelessness crisis. For many, it was a chance to reflect on the precarious circumstances facing thousands of Victorians, especially as rising living costs and a housing crisis push more people to the brink.

“More than nine in 10 people calling our Welfare Assistance Call Centre ask for food,” Vinnies Victoria CEO Dr Jennifer Fitzgerald said. “That’s a stark reminder that many are only one missed payment away from losing the roof over their heads.”

The event comes amid alarming statistics: homelessness in Victoria rose by 24 per cent between 2016 and 2021, and almost 30,000 people are now on the public housing waitlist. Women and children, particularly those fleeing family violence, are among the most vulnerable.

With these figures in mind, Vinnies recently opened a new Soup Van Hub in Hallam to meet growing demand in the state’s south-east. This marks a milestone in the organisation’s 50-year history of providing food and support across metropolitan and regional Victoria, which was celebrated at an event at Melbourne Town Hall on May 22.

Victorian Soup Van operations manager Toa Thredgold said demand as not just coming from those sleeping rough, but increasingly from working people under mortgage stress.

“We’re seeing people who’ve never asked for help before, now reaching out because they can’t make ends meet,” he said.

Through its evolving service – including hot meals and pantry vans stocked with staples and fresh produce – Vinnies aims to reduce stress for vulnerable Victorians.

“If we can take food off their worry list, they can focus on rent, petrol or medicine,” Thredgold said. •