Wattle Tree House to host a sleepout at Bathurst Sportsgound

It will be the first sleepout for Wattle Tree House, a homelessness and housing support service in Bathurst.

Manager Terry Tupper said the event was planned to educate more people about the severity of homelessness, an issue that is often misunderstood.

READ MORE: Homelessness NSW report reveals homelessness levels in Bathurst

"We wanted to do something different," she said.

"The big thing that we noticed is the communities tend to think that the homeless people are the people in the tents under the bridge.

"While they are homeless, that's a very, very small part of homelessness in Bathurst. What they don't see is the people sleeping in their cars, sheds, garages, under houses, in extremely overcrowded housing, and in shared housing.

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"It's the same in Bathurst as it is in every town, in every city, all across Australia."

The sleepout will be held on Friday, August 11 at Bathurst Sportsground, starting from 4pm.

Bathurst Regional Council has waived the costs of the venue hire to support the event.

By attending, people can learn more about what homelessness actually looks like in the Bathurst community.

READ MORE: Bathurst in need of a hostel as homelessness crisis grows

Ms Tupper said other organisations in the community that provide assistance to Wattle Tree House will be in attendance.

"We're not, ourselves, looking for any monetary donations, but in saying that, we've got every charity going to be there, and if people could support the charities, that would be fantastic," she said.

"They give free to us and every other service all year round - food, clothing, furniture."

At this stage, there is no need to register to attend the event, and food will be provided.

"We're just hoping people right across the community, it doesn't matter who you are, give us their time," Ms Tupper said.

"We understand that not everybody will be able to sleep out, but even if they can come and support just for a couple of hours, that would be fantastic."

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