Although losing your car keys, cracking your phone screen or missing an appointment may seem frustrating, it’s important to consider those of us who are really doing it tough.

In Tasmania there are about 1600 people experiencing homelessness right now, and don’t think for a second this number is just made up of criminals and drug addicts.

The circumstances leading to homelessness are extremely diverse and often entirely unjust.

A large portion of Tasmania’s homeless population would never have predicted they would end up without a place to live. Sometimes all it takes is one wrong turn before you are left with nothing but the clothes on your back.

At the end of the day the homeless are no different to any of us, and as a community we cannot continue to neglect their misfortune. This is why I’m participating in this year’s Vinnies CEO Sleepout and have done so for the past six years.

Working with IGA supermarkets we participate in a number of valuable charity initiatives, and the annual CEO Sleepout is one we feel very passionate about. Since first joining the Sleepout in 2011, I have been lucky enough to raise over $100,000 for the St Vincent De Paul Society to help Tasmanian’s without a place to live.

Each year I make a commitment to travel around the state and talk to people about the real necessity of the CEO Sleepout campaign and each year I hear a similar response; Tasmanian’s simply find it difficult to grasp the number of homeless living in our state.

However, once they understand the seriousness of the issue, Tasmanian’s are the first to lend a hand and support those trying to make a difference.

As Tasmanians, we visit other capital cities and see people sleeping rough on park benches and think, ‘this is what it means to be homeless’. When we rarely see this in our small towns and cities, it’s easy to assume the issue is of less significance in our community.

It’s hard to visualise the 400 adults and children with no place to go for risks associated with domestic violence, and even harder to imagine the 250 children under the age of 12 living in shelters, on couches or worse. There is no doubt homelessness is real in Tasmania and we need to work together to bring the issue out from behind the shadows.

It is through supporting initiatives such as the Vinnies CEO Sleepout that we can shine a light on homelessness in Tasmania.

Not only does the Sleepout raise thousands of dollars for the cause every year, it directly engages people with the power to make a difference.

For one night our state’s CEOs, leaders, managers, directors and business owners will experience what it’s like to come face-to-face with homelessness.

As a seasoned participant, I can testify to the power of this experience, but it’s not one you necessarily have to go alone.   Businesses can also enter as a corporate team, which has proved to be a team building exercise like no other.  

The 2017 Vinnies CEO Sleepout will be held at the University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston on Thursday, June 22 2017, visit www.ceosleepout.org.au to make a donation.