This Homelessness Week (Monday 3 August to Sunday 9 August), I will sleep on the streets of Sydney for seven nights.

Homelessness is one of the most traumatic realities of our time — and for most people, it doesn’t begin with a choice. It begins with something else.

Domestic violence.

Family breakdown.

Job loss.

Housing insecurity.

A health crisis.

A system that fails.

Homelessness is not who someone is — it’s what has happened to them.

And the truth is: it can happen to anyone.

This campaign exists because we have normalised something that should never be normal.

People are stepped over.

Ignored.

Judged.

Treated as invisible.

Not because they are invisible — but because we’ve learned to look away.

For seven nights, I will experience a version of what most of us never have to think about:

Where do you go to the bathroom when you don’t have one?

How do you eat when no one stops to help?

How do you sleep when you don’t feel safe — when you’re exposed to the elements?

What does it feel like to be ignored, judged, or treated like you don’t exist?

This will be the hardest seven nights of my life.

I will live in public spaces.

I will rely on the kindness of strangers.

I will experience discomfort, fear, vulnerability, hunger, and exhaustion.

And I will share that experience — honestly and respectfully — throughout the week.

But to be clear: this is not homelessness.

And it is not to speak for those with lived experience.

It is to create visibility, conversation, and collective responsibility.

You can be part of this by:

• Donating

• Sharing

• Spending a night (or even a few hours) on the street with me

Because this is bigger than one person sleeping outside.

It’s about refusing to accept this as normal.

Housing is not a privilege — it is a human right.

Dignity should never be conditional.

Our goal: $100,000

Because awareness without action changes nothing.

Where your donation goes:

• 90% to frontline homelessness services (such as Orange Sky, We are Mobilise etc.)

• 10% to the Homeless Christmas Drive

(A community initiative run by Eliza and myself supporting people experiencing rough homelessness during the festive season.)

This is about choosing to see.

Choosing to care.

Choosing to act.

If you are able to give — give.

If you are able to share — share.

If you are able to stand with us — join me.

Because homelessness is not a statistic.

It is not a policy debate.

It is a person.

It is a life.

And they are... still human.