By Oliver Lees
Sunbury’s faithful are helping the town’s homeless get through the coldest months of the year.
The Sunbury Winter Shelter is back for its second iteration with five churches around town opening their doors and welcoming anyone in need of a good night’s sleep.
The initiative is entirely run by volunteers and provides dormitory-style accommodation, hot meals and transportation from June 1 to August 31.
The shelter first ran in 2019 with 184 volunteers joining a 24/7 roster catering to the needs of 19 homeless people. Volunteers for the 2021 service are now being encouraged to apply.
Sunbury Winter Shelter project co-ordinator Chris Prosser says it’s “incredibly rewarding” to be able to give back at the toughest time of the year.
“There was just this excitement in the air [in 2019], this electric feeling having so many people wanting to help.” Ms Prosser said.
“So many things hinge around being in a stable home environment.
“We don’t want to take over their lives, we just want to walk with them for a little while to see if we can change their circumstances.
“People still ring me to say thank you for the work we’ve done.”
The Sunbury Winter Shelter is funded largely by donations from local organisations and business, as well as a grant from Hume council.
How long a participant wishes to stay is entirely up to the individual, says Ms Prosser, who recalls one man staying for a total of 64 nights in 2019.
But she said the biggest difficulty the group faces is finding volunteers to cover night and weekend shifts.
“The program couldn’t work without our wonderful volunteers, so we encourage anybody that is interested to get involved.”
Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age. Details: www.sunburywintershelter.org.au
