Homeless Homestay
Decidedly Downmarket
In our past lives,many of us heard the throwaway line “I wonder what its like to be homeless.” Now, Homeless Community Direct offer you the unique chance to find out!
Our “Homeless for a Day Challenge” is a 24 hour one on one (or one on two) guided tour through the life of a genuine homeless person in Sydney. Leave your credit card and preconceptions behind. Your tour guide will show you the real life of the homeless in Sydney,warts and all. You will dine in some of the most dedicated and decidedly undecadent establishments the city has, as well as sampling some of the ad hoc nosheries on offer.
Locals, you thought you knew Sydney?? Think again!!!
Travellers and visitors, its the new Must Do Experience in Sydney!!! You know! Eiffel Tower in Paris, Statue of Liberty in New York, The Sugarloaf in Rio and Homeless for a day in Sydney. Travellers,our capacity to communicate is limited to a very few languages,but we can point!!!!
Oh,and one other thing.The fee you pay( about $150) includes tucker,24 hour guided tour, arranged sleepover in a typical homeless site.You may only take photos with permission,and permission is more often than not denied.
Take the first step in learning about homelessness by contacting;
sydneyhomeless@letterboxes.org
Due to many considerations, service is available to medically fit adults 18 years of age and over.
The reader is warned that unforseen situations can and frequently do arise which may be hazardous and all participants are warned that while participation is strictly at their own risk.Clients are deemed to have been warned of and accept the risks and dangers, and hold SydneyHomeless and the individual guides indemnified.
7 responses to “Homeless Homestay”
John Kealey
February 17th, 2012 at 11:23
Genuine offer For male 35 to 50 need a fresh start away from city?
I have propery out side Sydney that need help in return for Lodging away from drugs and city life
Need to be keen and motivated to look after chooks ; Dogs Garden and house Help get it going and full time job after 3 months if the challange is yours .
However if no challange I have to go off shore to get someone . Just commen sence and NO bad habbits I can cope with most other problems Please contact if this is what you are looking for a hand up
John Kealey
February 17th, 2012 at 11:04
Blake if you can stand a Rural property out side Sydney and help with running the property Accommadation and most meals , Help with getting it running then full time job after 3 months . Warm bed , animals, Hot quality food, Fresh air
Nicole
June 3rd, 2011 at 11:33
Blake! If you ever find your way back onto this site, please leave your email address. The reality of your words is astonishing! I hope that your fortune has changed! Nicole.
Blake
November 1st, 2010 at 11:05
It would also be really nice if there were a site or two dedicated to actually helping the homeless as opposed to making money off their lifestyles!!
Where does this money ($150 pp) go? Why the hell are you doing this? Why are there no links to actual beds for the homeless?
I have been on this site for more than 1 hour because i am looking for a bed, but obviously that is merely collateral. I will not pay for your homeless tour and therefore am not your target audience.
You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Blake
November 1st, 2010 at 10:37
I am a fully literate 21 year old who has been homeless on and off for a few years.
I finished basic and IET infantry training(singleton).
Since then i have only been able to gain employment in small short term sales jobs.
“The reader is warned that unforseen situations can and frequently do arise which may be hazardous and all participants are warned that while participation is strictly at their own risk.Clients are deemed to have been warned of and accept the risks and dangers, and hold SydneyHomeless and the individual guides indemnified. ”
Yeah… welcome to the real world.
I have been diagnosed with extremely severe depression and placed on various medications.
I have proven that i can work diligently and efficiently and have a strong work ethic, but that means nothing when you can’t even wash your clothes.
As i am 22 in December there are no places in which i can stay, therefore most nights i sleep on benches with a sleeping-bag.
While this in itself is no problem, attempting to go to a job interview with no shower, no dinner or breakfast, no money or coffee and dirty clothes (which you slept in the night before) is virtually impossible and securing a position in such a state IS IMPOSSIBLE (unless you find a business owner who is as devoid of morality as he/she is greedy -where you end up being paid little or nothing for your work, because let’s face it… who gives a f**** about the homeless anyway?). Imagine you are going to a job interview, but that morning (and the night before) the power is out.
You have no shower.
No clean clothes.
No edible food.
And because your hypothetical automated blinds were on the mains power, you got no sleep either.
You go to the interview smelling almost as terrible as you feel and the receptionist greets you with a piteous smile.
You don’t want to go in.
You know you will be ridiculed. You know that the situation you are in is your fault and noone elses and you have told yourself your entire life that money isn’t everything. You know that the interviewer will be nice, even shocked by your impressive elocution… but that doesn’t matter.
You smell, you have no confidence, you feel like you deserve to be in some pit, hidden from the public eye but you go in anyway.
You never even get a callback… though you weren’t expecting one.
I have been tutoring English, but because of unforseen complications i am unable to continue teaching.
Now i have to go back to the streets. My housemates are appalled, but they are all international students so they can’t help (and even if they were able to i could not accept).
I was dating a Belgian girl in my house. I had to lie to her because i didn’t have the courage to admit that i could no longer work or pay for rent.
I don’t want to live like this. I’m supposed to be smart and strong.
But this is how i live, amongst heroin addicts (who are treated much more nicely because they have a ‘real’ reason to be homeless) and other kids who were born into my situation.
I am lucky. I am literate. I can read and write. Most cannot.
Homelessness is a different world. A world full of insanity and desperation and hopelessness. Of violence and law-dodging and compromise.
I don’t know why i’m writing this… i just wanted to make use of the free internet i get at the place i’m renting now (and have been for 10 months, never late with rent, never one complaint from anyone). In another day or two i will not have internet. Or power. Or food.
I’m out
Blake
Melody Hanson
October 3rd, 2010 at 08:45
Have you had anyone take you up on this? What did they learn?
SydneyHomeless
October 3rd, 2010 at 15:10
hi Melody
about 120 people had taken up the challenge when I last checked about 3 weeks ago.They are from disparate backgrounds but many are offshore visitors.They have been able to glean an insight into homelessness in its diversity in Sydney.Some who are Australian (Sydney) students with ambitions of working in Child Protection and Social Services and Government said they were changing their career choice.Many offshore visitors were able to make comparisons about the perception of homelessness here and where they come from. Others who had not thought much about homelessness were confronted that a country as affluent as Australia could have such a problem and not deal with it.These were mainly Australians.I can but won’t add more
Sydney Homeless