GEO News

A group of seven staff members from Ravenhall Correctional Centre in Melbourne, Australia, were part of the 1,500-plus crowd that raised nearly $1 million AUD for homeless youth at the 2018 ‘Sleep at the G’ event.

‘The G’ is the colloquial term for the world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) — the iconic sports stadium that hosts Australian Rules Football matches, international cricket, and many other major sporting events.

‘Sleep at the G’ participants and volunteers spent the night at the stadium to support the 6,000 vulnerable young people in Victoria experiencing homelessness. Being a participant meant committing to actively fundraise.

For a registration fee of $70 AUD, participants received a cardboard box to sleep on, dinner (soup), coffee, tea, and a basic breakfast. The participants from Ravenhall Correctional Centre included Kellie O'Dea, Kim Sayer, Rebecca Bochtler, Lorna Murphy, Sarah Burns, Abril Garcia-Negron, and Trent Jansz. The group raised $1,470 AUD, exceeding their original target of $1,000 AUD.

Rebecca Bochtler, the acting Manager at Ravenhall Correctional Centre’s community reintegration centre, The Bridge Centre, was thrilled with the support the group received from colleagues.

“It was definitely an experience we won’t forget anytime soon and it was very worthwhile to raise awareness and funds for youth homelessness,” she said.

The ‘Sleep at the G’ event supports the Melbourne City Mission — one of GEO’s alliance partners at Ravenhall Correctional Centre. The funds will go towards building Australia's first fully integrated response to youth homelessness — a 24/7 youth crisis accommodation centre.

The centre will provide emergency accommodation along with housing, health, education, and employment support, and will help young people break the cycle of homelessness and prevent them from falling into long-term adult homelessness.