Parking Lot Converted Into a Shelter for the Homeless. Everything Thanks to a Creative Charity Action
Unfortunately, homelessness is still a massive problem. People lose their accommodation for a number of reasons and eventually end in the street. The Beddown organization came up with an idea that can solve the problem.
The idea was born during a walk
Beddown, an Australian charity organization decided to make use of indoor parking lots to help the homeless. How did it all come about? It was Norman McGillvray, the founder of the organization, who came up with it while walking along an empty parking lot at night. He asked himself whether that space could not be somehow used at night. And soon the idea to turn it into a shelter was born. However, that required the permission of the Secure Parking company, managing the facility. They did agree and it was in Brisbane when a two-week long trial period began.
The volunteers are people of big hearts who help anyone who needs it
The fundamental goal was to make use of the parking space which is only exploited at day, for example by people working in the building or shoppers. That means the volunteers had to prepare the beds for the homeless every single day. Throughout two weeks 41 people stayed there for a night. Most of them (77%) were men.
What the volunteers are happiest about is that the homeless who slept there were really satisfied with the conditions the shelter offered. They said they felt safe and comfortable there.
Beddown supports the homeless also in other areas, including medical care, hairdressing, dental care and financial support. Their main ambition is to encourage these people to stop living in the street. It is not easy, though, as many of the homeless are addicted.
The volunteers never refuse to help anyway. Alarmingly, the youngest person to stay there was 15 years old.
