VINNIES CEO SLEEPOUT CALLS ON QLD LEADERS TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST HOMELESSNESS

As Queensland’s housing affordability hits record lows, Vinnies Queensland is calling on business, community, and government leaders to step up, sleep out, and take part in the 2025 CEO Sleepout, hosted across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast on 19 June.

2025 will be a special year for the CEO Sleepout, with the Gold Coast celebrating their 10^th anniversary of the event and the Brisbane Sleepout moving to a new venue – The Gabba stadium in Woolloongabba.

The 2025 CEO Sleepout was officially launched yesterday, 3 April, with Vinnies Queensland hoping to raise $2.5m for homelessness support across the state.

Vinnies Queensland CEO Kevin Mercer said the scale of our state housing crisis was immense but was even more reason to not give up on helping those facing homelessness.  

“To put things in perspective, The Gabba has a capacity of 42,000 seats,” he said. 

“If you filled every single seat with a Queenslander on the social housing waiting list considered at ‘high risk’ of homelessness, you’d still be about 5,000 seats short.

”The CEO Sleepout events across Queensland will raise crucial funds to build affordable and social housing across Queensland, ensuring vulnerable individuals and families have a safe place to call home, as well as equipping our Members to support those experiencing homelessness. 

The Sleepout was officially launched yesterday, 3 April across all three locations.

Vinnies Queensland CEO, Kevin Mercer, is calling on Queensland leaders to take action, highlighting the urgent need for safe and affordable housing. 

“Brisbane is now the second most expensive city to live in across Australia, with rent prices soaring by more than 30% in just three years. For thousands of families, the cost of living is unbearable, and more people than ever are turning to Vinnies for help,” Mr Mercer said. 

“With rental vacancy rates dropping to 1% and below across the state, people are struggling to find stable housing, and homelessness is becoming a reality for many.” 

To meet this growing need, Vinnies Queensland has launched a project to build 592 homes to provide to vulnerable Queenslanders, with access to both secure housing and wrap-around support services to keep residents out of homelessness for good. 

“The CEO Sleepout is a way for business leaders to come together, experience just a small part of what too many Queenslanders face daily, and raise the vital funds needed to build more homes and provide critical support, Mr Mercer said. 

In the last financial year, Vinnies QLD’s homelessness services supported more than 1,300 people out of homelessness to sustainable housing and provided more than 128,500 nights of accommodation.  

The funds raised from the CEO Sleepout are vital in ensuring we can keep up with the growing demand for support to ensure no Queenslander is left behind.  

For more information, or to register for the 2025 Sleepout, visit www.ceosleepout.org.au.