Breakfast kicks off week of focus on homeless

HOMELESSNESS Week begins today with an annual homelessness breakfast at the Hilton on the Esplanade.

Anglicare North Queensland will host the breakfast with an expected attendance of 140 guests.

“We are coming together to raise awareness of homelessness,” Anglicare chief executive Ian Roberts said.

“We want to articulate the real stories of real people who experience going through homelessness. We will have people who have lived the experience. They will speak about the challenges of their experience — it will be very emotive.”

There are almost 2000 people living rough or couch surfing in Cairns.

“We will look at the week from the point of view of those experiencing homelessness,” Mr Roberts said.

“We are not content with minimising homelessness, we want to end it as much as we possibly can.”

He said those sleeping on the streets made up only a small fraction of those experiencing homelessness.

“Ninety-four per cent are in boarding houses or in places that are unsafe,” Mr Roberts said.

“It is not just about having a home or a house, it is about having a place that feels safe.”

State and federal MPs and business stakeholders will attend the breakfast.

“We can all do something about homelessness, you can donate to your local food bank to support families doing it really tough,” Mr Roberts said.