Professors sleepout for a good cause

Three University of Adelaide Professors are participating in the 2022 Vinnies CEO Sleepout on the streets of Adelaide. They are three of the many leaders from business, community and government who are sleeping outside without shelter on one of the longest nights of the year.

This is the second CEO Sleepout for Noel Lindsay who will be joined by Emma Baker and Veronica Soebarto. They are raising money to help Vinnies provide vital support for homeless people.

Professor Lindsay is the Dean of Business, Adelaide Business School and Pro Vice Chancellor (Entrepreneurship) in the University.

“This sleepout offers me a small way in which I can contribute to a growing problem in society. Vinnies offers a focused approach that provides tangible outcomes to assist disadvantaged people access to a hot meal, warm bed, and other necessities,” he says.

“My research interests focus on using collaborative and integrated social entrepreneurship initiatives to empower disadvantaged people and communities to help reduce barriers to safety and security, while facilitating the potential for sustainable longer term mainstream employment opportunities.”

Professor Baker is Professor of Housing Research, and Director of the Australian Centre for Housing Research.

“I’m a housing researcher, so I’ve seen the value of a safe and affordable home. I’ve also seen just how close any of us can be to homelessness,” she says.  

Professor Soebarto is the Director of Research in the School of Architecture and Built Environment, and she says the sleepout has prompted her to ask what else we collectively can do to help provide a proper living environment for those facing homelessness.

“We, researchers and educators, should work hand in hand with people in government and industry to solve this acute problem,” she says.

More than 116,000 people in Australia don’t have a safe and secure place to live each night, including an increasing number of young people and older women. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as well as recent migrants are disproportionately affected.

Noel, Emma, and Veronica raised enough money to help Vinnies fund 57 individual support programs, 152 beds, and 614 meals to those who need it most. 

To find out more information about the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, visit: https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/