Nat’s stretch on the street raises $63,000

THE reality of life as a homeless man became apparent to Nat Spary when the automatic sprinklers turned on in the park he was sleeping in.

The coordinator of the BASE Services Toowoomba had just spent his seventh night in a row on the streets, as part of the Homeless for a Week initiative.

To drive the realism in 2017, Mr Spary’s experiment included a terrifying night on his own in the middle of the CBD.

“Every time I tried to go to asleep I would just wake up, because I didn’t know what the night was going to be like,” he said.

“There was once or twice where I wanted to go home.”

Mr Spary’s efforts to increase awareness of the issue also raised more than $60,000 to keep the BASE Soup Kitchen open.

He said the experience, his third consecutive year running it, further opened his eyes to how many people in Toowoomba didn’t have a place to sleep.

“There are more people out there than I thought – that night I was sleeping by myself, 250 metres down the road was a guy sleeping rough on the street and he had a walking frame next to him,” Mr Spary said.

“I did not know he was there until people told me he was.”

He said the experience at times was scary, adding that people on the streets were often invisible or a nuisance to the general public.

“There are times when you’re worried you might get assaulted, plus the screeching of cars and revving of motors,” he said.

“I was called a bum, I’ve been sworn at, yelled at – it doesn’t happen often but it does happen.

“It makes you feel labelled and vulnerable, because who knows what that person is going to do.”

Mr Spary’s Facebook page for the event, which he updated through his phone, offered an interesting insight into sleeping rough.

To donate to the cause, head to homelessforaweek.com.au.