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This Parking Lot Is Turned Into A Safe Haven For The Homeless At Night
Homelessness is an issue that has always been prominent in our world. Many people don’t have a home because of an illness or because they lost their job. They have bad health and can’t start working, because of that they can’t pay for a doctor, so it’s a neverending loop.
Homeless people don’t have anywhere to go, so they sleep on the streets, covering themselves with newspapers or cardboard boxes, rummaging through the trash cans to find some food or warmer clothes.
This charity decided to help these unlucky people.
More info: beddown.org.au | Instagram | Facebook
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Image credits: Beddown
Seeing these horrible ‘living’ conditions, the Australian charity Beddown decided to help these people in need. They came up with an amazing idea to make shelters in places that are vacant at night – like parking lots! The organization asked one of the largest car park operators, Secure Parking, and they agreed to launch a two-week trial in Brisbane.
Image credits: Beddown
This is how the parking lot looked before the Beddown charity and a group of kind volunteers got to work on creating a safe environment for homeless people to finally get a good night’s rest.
Image credits: Beddown
The founder of the charity Beddown Norman McGillivray came up with this idea while walking through an empty parking lot at night, why not use it as a shelter? After some careful planning, they finally made this idea a reality.
Image credits: Beddown
The aim of this charity is to take common places only used in the daytime and make them into shelters for the homeless at night. They provide safe and secure locations for people to get a good night’s rest.
Many of the homeless suffer from sleep deprivation because of their living conditions, and it can lead to many other problems, like: depression, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, memory loss, it can also impair cognitive function and lead to alcohol or drug use, they are also constantly at risk of being attacked and the little things that they do have being stolen.
Image credits: Beddown
The charity also provided multiple services to the guests, like doctors, nurses, dentists, hairdressers. They gave them new clothing, a place to clean themselves and helped provide social services.
Image credits: Beddown
“We will look to get as close as we can to a proper comfortable bed to provide the homeless with a great night’s sleep is our ultimate goal. Sleep deprivation is a massive issue for our homeless, so being in a place that offers shelter and is safe, secure and comfortable we believe will have a big impact on those who use Beddown” – The creators of Beddown wrote on their Instagram page.
Image credits: Beddown
Image credits: Beddown
Here are some initial statistics after the first pilots and trials:
- 41 guests used Beddown over the duration of the pilot.
- 77% of them were male and 23% were female.
- The guests rated the sleep 4.5 out of 5 and the beds 4.5 out of 5 on average.
- 100% of the guests said they felt safe during their stay.
- Due to overcapacity, 9 people were turned away in one night.
- The youngest person who tried to access Beddown was just 15 years old.
Image credits: Beddown
Image credits: Beddown
“It was great to start bringing the Beddown vision to life last night with a group of our awesome volunteers for the Dry Run. Thank you to our awesome group of volunteers who came in late on a Saturday night to help us trial and set-up some beds. Although as expected we had a few challenges to overcome, it was awesome to start bringing Beddown to life. Beddown will provide an immediate response for those who sleep rough to access safe, secure shelter and access to a comfy bed and a great night’s sleep. We will work with our other collaborative partners to provide long term solutions to transition our guests into accommodation, education and employment opportunities and ultimately put ourselves out of business (this is the vision)” – They said in one of their Instagram posts.
Image credits: Beddown
Image credits: Beddown
These are some of the many comments from the people that were a part of this charity:
“After spending the week here, having a good sleep at night and a routine, it reminded me of life and I booked myself into Rehab for 6 months.”
“Being able to sleep all night and away from drugs, I’m clearer in the day and have not used drugs for 8 days.”
“It’s the first time I have had a dream in years.”
“I don’t have to watch my back here.”
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What do you think ?
Sean Harrison 5 years ago
Meanwhile....In the city of Redmond, WA police are cracking down on the homeless living in their cars by citing them for trespassing and them towing their vehicles, right at the start of Winter. I should mention that many of the homeless that live in their vehicles around here are in college or they have jobs, they just can't afford the high cost of housing. Losing their car means they'll probably lose their jobs, not to mention all their possessions (like clean clothing). It never ceases to amaze me the lengths people will go to to "help the homeless" by doing just about everything, except giving them the one thing they need, which is housing.
DrGirlfriend 5 years ago
Fk... this hurts man.. I've seen anti homeless sht all over this planet.. as someone who was nowhere with nothing having nowhere to go no one who wants or cares, hungry sometimes scared...it definitely hurts when they burn,tow, trash ,soak down, spike out or metal benches it fixes nothing causes more suffering... Fkn heartbreak if you add mental illness where they can't think and do like most social creatures, it's different for them they feel they deserve to be there which is excruciating all on it's own. The ones who are working and going to school in this situation is anger inducing. Horrible they work so hard to be treated so unfairly... Hurts man all around . Sorry for saying so much hope you have a good day
Load More Replies...
Sori 5 years ago
I liked they didn’t use pics if the homeless to show what a good thing this is. It’s an amazing project
Ferdinand Piet 5 years ago
@analinababee18 why don't you offer your services to the homeless for free?
Load More Replies...
Aria Whitaker 5 years ago (edited)
I know where some of our family holiday donations are going this year! This is a great idea and we will be proud to help support! I wonder how we can get a chapter of Beddown started in the US??
Lynda Momalo 5 years ago
I was thinking the same thing -- people, forward this article to your state representatives! (And anyone else you can think of.)
Load More Replies...
Sean Harrison 5 years ago
Meanwhile....In the city of Redmond, WA police are cracking down on the homeless living in their cars by citing them for trespassing and them towing their vehicles, right at the start of Winter. I should mention that many of the homeless that live in their vehicles around here are in college or they have jobs, they just can't afford the high cost of housing. Losing their car means they'll probably lose their jobs, not to mention all their possessions (like clean clothing). It never ceases to amaze me the lengths people will go to to "help the homeless" by doing just about everything, except giving them the one thing they need, which is housing.
DrGirlfriend 5 years ago
Fk... this hurts man.. I've seen anti homeless sht all over this planet.. as someone who was nowhere with nothing having nowhere to go no one who wants or cares, hungry sometimes scared...it definitely hurts when they burn,tow, trash ,soak down, spike out or metal benches it fixes nothing causes more suffering... Fkn heartbreak if you add mental illness where they can't think and do like most social creatures, it's different for them they feel they deserve to be there which is excruciating all on it's own. The ones who are working and going to school in this situation is anger inducing. Horrible they work so hard to be treated so unfairly... Hurts man all around . Sorry for saying so much hope you have a good day
Load More Replies... Sori 5 years ago
I liked they didn’t use pics if the homeless to show what a good thing this is. It’s an amazing project
Ferdinand Piet 5 years ago
@analinababee18 why don't you offer your services to the homeless for free?
Load More Replies... Aria Whitaker 5 years ago (edited)
I know where some of our family holiday donations are going this year! This is a great idea and we will be proud to help support! I wonder how we can get a chapter of Beddown started in the US??
Lynda Momalo 5 years ago
I was thinking the same thing -- people, forward this article to your state representatives! (And anyone else you can think of.)
Load More Replies...
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