Homeless man needs a van for a home.

Tony Onnes is one of about two thousand homeless people in Tasmania, and they have to live and sleep in conditions unfamiliar to most of us. Those of us who are not homeless are usually living in a dwelling that is warm and safe and comfortable. Overnight temperatures here can get to minus 5 centigrade.

Tony has been sleeping and living in his SUV for a few years now and has to replace it, and the coming winter will be another challenge to living in a car.

Tony has "done the math" and living in a rental, if you could get one for an optimistic minimum of $250 pw, would make purchasing food almost out of the question.

So, Tony's solution is buy a second hand van every few years, and live rough and cold and probably unsafe.

A few of us who don't have to sleep in vans, and have met Tony at the Devonport swimming pool, where we all swim or do water aerobics to improve and maintain our health are aware that he is not complaining, and generously shared his story with us when we inquired.

So we are putting this out there to anyone who can contribute something to our fundraising, or perhaps even the van itself.

How many low cost houses could be built for the same price as a proposed $1 billion stadium, and I am not aware of that solving homelessness is big on the political agenda.

Obviously, we can't fix the housing deficiency for all Australians, but maybe we can resolve Tony's accomodation crisis.

A van with a sliding door side entrance would be very practical, as Tony has some mobility and agility issues, and resolve the problem of squeezing through a car door onto a small mattress.