Helping homeless and at-risk men was always the aim of the Lifeskills Plus 'Blokes Pack' program, but they did not expect such a generous response from the community.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Similar to the #sharethedignity campaign, where people donate feminine hygiene products; Lifeskills Plus worked with Barnardos Mudgee to help make the lives of men in the region who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless a little bit easier.
Suava Tanner from Lifeskills Plus in Mudgee said she was impressed how much was donated during the collection period.
"We really can't believe how much has come through the doors. People have even put their own packs together," Suava said.
"Mudgee Bakery took money instead of products and they raised more than $250 and we already noted that Blooms The Chemist matched [their donations] item for item - effectively doubling their donations.
Also making news:
"Just to see it all here now is really, really cool.
The packs will now be dispersed to men in the region who come through Barnardos doors.
Carissa Hannaford from Barnardos Mudgee said this time of year sees a greater than normal volume of homeless men coming through their doors.
"We will disperse it through our community of homeless gentlemen, families and teenage boys. We also have transition properties that we like to stock those products for boys coming in, Carissa said.
"A lot of the time it's kind of like, 'we've only got ladies' spray'. Now we can say we have men's products too.
They're the ones who came up with it, they're really special.
- Suava Tanner
The team from Lifeskills Plus which included Suava, along with Dylan Rutter, Russell Moriarty and Paul Wright is happy with the end result.
"Look at the achievement. We are [proud of ourselves]," Paul said.
He pointed to Russell and laughed, 'He's doing somersaults.'
"It's really helped with their confidence too. It was literally the boys going around with the buckets going into different business asking if they could set them up and what they're about. It was their initiative, Suava said.
"They're the ones who came up with it, they're really special."
Male homelessness in the region
Carissa Hannaford from Barnardos Mudgee said men are often a 'forgotten species' when it came to homeless support.
"I think especially to help men out, sometimes men are a forgotten species. Its hard for us in our Specialist Homeless Service (SHS) when we have homeless men coming through, they're pretty well at the bottom of the list for housing there are no single accomodation at the moment," Carissa said.
"If you're not working you've got no hope. So its usually backpack swags - the CWA ladies donated a pile to us. So weve been handing them out and trying to get them on camp sites.
"Winter time it's hard [because] its just too cold so otherwise you need to kind of need to leave the area but why should you leave the area? Especially if you were brought up here, it's just their family circumstances have changed.
"Mental health is a huge part of it, drugs and alcohol, theyre disengaged from their family or they're too embarrassed to go back to the family unit as well."
Subscribing means more than just website access. Read the print paper online, enter giveaways and more for just $2 a week, less than one coffee. What are you waiting for?
