Shivering railway workers endured a cold, wet, miserable night out at Wagga station in order to raise money for homelessness through the Vinnies CEO Sleepout.
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The mercury dipped into the single digits as train workers came huddled in puffy jackets and sleeping bags in preparation for a rough night ahead.
By the time the sun rose on Friday, the team had raised about $20,000.
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One of the rough sleepers was Transport for NSW regional and outer metropolitan deputy secretary Carol-Anne Nelson, who said she was willing to brave the cold for the sake of the region's homeless.
"It's something that people think is a Sydney issue, but it really isn't - it's a massive issue across regional NSW," Ms Nelson said.
"We see it a lot, our team see it a lot, we see a lot of people using safe places like train stations to keep dry, so it's a big issue for us and the communities we represent."
The prospect of a cold night out was not so daunting for network and assets executive director Tom Grosskopf, who said he was used to roughing it during his road and rail maintenance projects.
He has participated in several Vinnies sleepouts in the past, but had to do so remotely last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I was out in the front yard in my swag with my dog. Unfortunately I can't have my dog with me tonight but, y'know, you can't have everything," Mr Grosskopf said.
"NSW can be a cold hard place. There are very few places where people can get refuge so anything we can do to help out to provide support to those that give care in our communities - it's well worth a cold night out on the streets."
NSW Trainlink chief executive Pete Allaway spent last year's Vinnies sleepout huddled in the back of his car, but said he was glad to be able to do it together with his team this year.
Mr Allaway said homelessness with an issue that hit close to home for railway workers, who saw firsthand how widespread the problem was across the state.
"At NSW TrainLink we're abundantly aware of homelessness at our stations," Mr Allaway said.
"Anything we can do in a regional space that raises awareness but also raises for Vinnies is an absolute godsend."
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Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
