Splendour tents to be handed to the homeless

Two ute loads of tents donated by campers at the recent Splendour in the Grass festival will be offered to homeless people attending Homelessness Connect Day at The Winsome in Lismore today.

Festival attendees who brought them on site but did not want to take them home afterwards left behind the tents in good condition.

They were collected by workers from On Track Community Programs (OTCP) and Connecting Home, helped by community volunteers. The tents were sorted, cleaned and repacked for passing on to those in need of temporary shelter.

‘We are so grateful to Splendour attendees who left these tents for people they knew were in need, but would never meet,’  OTCP chief executive Elaine De Vos said.

‘While the challenge of tackling homelessness obviously goes well beyond tent accommodation, this is a small positive step to help some local people have rudimentary shelter and not have to sleep rough.’

The aim of this inaugural event during Homelessness Prevention Week is to connect people lacking secure and safe accommodation with government and non-government services working in the field of housing and tenancy advice, and other key life support services, including health care and legal assistance.

Homelessness Connect is being run this year in partnership with OTCP, Northern Rivers Social Development Council, North Coast Community Housing, The Winsome & Lismore Soup Kitchen, Salvation Army, Centrelink, Consortium of Neighbourhood Centres (CONC) and Connecting Home.

The day’s activities will include free lunch, haircuts, toiletries, warm clothing and bedding, non-perishable food items, and live music.

‘The Winsome has become a wonderful hub for people in need, and OTCP feels privileged to be part of the support team participating in this important event,’ Ms De Vos said.