Former homeless man raises $58,000 to buy a 'Sleep Bus'
The Age
April 22, 2016
Carolyn Webb
Simon Rowe inspects a coach he plans to convert into a free Sleep Bus for the homeless this winter.Photo: Simon Schluter
A one-time homeless man has quit his job, raised $58,000and bought a coach in his quest to provide a free bus for the homeless to sleep in this winter.
Desperate to help those forced todossdown in shopdoorways and parks, Simon Rowe has named June 1 as the start date of the90-day pilot of his 22-bed Sleep Bus.
In a two-month appeal oncrowdsourcing site GoFundMe, Mr Rowe has raised $58,000 of the $85,000 needed to fund the pilot.
"It will happen," he said.
He plans to havetwo more buses in the Melbourne CBD and believes 300 are needed around Australia.
"I can't walk past another homeless person on the street," he said. "I need to get them off it, and this is my solution.
"Our motto is, 'sleep changes everything', so if they can get a good, safe sleep, they're not in harm's way, or in the weather, they can think a bit better and find pathways out."
Mr Rowe, who quit his job with anoffice supplies company to focus onSleep Bus, saidthe idea formulateda year ago when he saw a man sleeping outside a bank in Carlisle Street, Balaclava.
"I stopped and spoke to him. He really affected me. I went home and told my kids, and started crying, and I'm not a crier."
It reminded Mr Rowe of four months in 1993 when he lived in his car in Adelaide.
Although he had a chef job, he had defaulted on his rentand was too proud to ask friends for help.
"I'd sneak into the local caravan park and have a shower, then goto work," he said.
It taught him that "a lot of people in Australia are just one disaster away from ending up on the streets themselves".
On Thursday, bus company Westernport Roadlines and Sandringham Coachesdelivered a 12-metre-long former V/Line coach that itsold to Sleep Bus for $20,000.
A company manager, Marc Turner, said that was $25,000 less than its market value.
Westernport staff have serviced and repaired the bus. It willundergo a$30,000 refurbishment, including painting onthe Sleep Bus logo, and the installation oftwo toilets,22 sleep pods –each with lockable roller doors – andlockers.
Eachpod will have a a mattress donated by mattresscompany Ecosa, andsheets and blankets that will bewashed daily. Tontine will provide pillows for the pilot bus.
Each pod also will have television with a channel showingwhere to get help.
The bus will have eight pet kennels, a security system and intercom, family sleep pods with parental control locks, a security guard and CCTV.
Mr Rowe is also seeking councils' permission to park in the CBD and suburbs. He is considering a back street in the St Kilda area for the pilot period.
City of Port Phillip mayor Bernadene Voss said: "I have sent an informal email to Mr Rowe and council officers will be seeking a detailed briefing with him so they can fully understand the proposal."
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