Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
NSW police officers show some sole
NSW Police have donated more than 500 pairs of boots to Mission Australia to help homeless people and raise awareness about the problem.
September 6, 2017
NSW police officers have stepped up to help homeless people by donating more than 500 pairs of used police boots.
“They’re of great quality and certainly have plenty of life left in them,” Police spokesman for Vulnerable Communities, Superintendent Allan Sicard said in a statement on Wednesday.
Mission Australia’s state director Ben Carblis said the boots will not only help people in need, but the police have brought attention to the broader issue of homelessness in NSW.
According to Homelessness NSW there has been a 35 per cent increase in the number of people accessing housing related support in the past two years, with 69,000 people requesting help last financial year.
Supt Sicard said although family and domestic violence was the single largest cause of homelessness, officers often found it was complicated by other issues such as the shortage of affordable housing, unemployment or serious illness.
“One of the biggest things we find is people are embarrassed of being at risk of becoming homeless and don’t ask for help early enough,” he said.