The Salvation Army is asking people to consider sleeping on their couch for a night next month in a bid to raise awareness – and funds – to tackle the issue of couch surfing.
Described as a “form of hidden homelessness”, the Salvation Army’s Jason Poutawa says couch surfing is “often the first unseen step in the cycle of youth homelessness”.
GET ON THE COUCH! The Salvation Army is askig people to sleep on their couch on the night of 13th September and raise funds and awareness of homelessness. PICTURE: Kia Abell/www.freeimages.com
“Just because a young person has a roof over their head does not mean they have stability, safety or a secure place to live…” he says.
“The reality is that these arrangements can be dangerous and can very easily lead to sleeping rough.”
The Salvation Army are asking people to sleep on their couch on the night of 13th September to raise funds for youth homelessness services operating in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
They say figures show about 44,000 young Australians between the ages of 12 and 24 years are currently homeless.
