FNQ Community Sleepout to support locals experiencing homelessness

The Vinnies FNQ Community Sleepout returns to Cazalys Stadium on Friday 7 August 2026, with locals from across the region coming together to spend a night sleeping rough with the hopes of raising $70,000 for those experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.

The Community Sleepout comes off the back of Queensland’s most successful Vinnies CEO Sleepout to date, with the state leading the national fundraising event with a record-breaking $3 million raised in June.

Funds raised through the Community Sleepout will directly support Far North Queensland residents experiencing or at risk of homelessness with emergency accommodation, wraparound services and providing clothing, bedding, food and hygiene products.

An estimated 3,000 people experience homelessness on a given night in Cairns, giving the region one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country.

The Sleepout coincides with National Homelessness Week, running from Monday 3 August to Sunday 9 August, making this year's event even more timely as it turns national awareness into local action for safe and affordable housing.

St Vincent de Paul Member, Chair of Vinnies Housing and FNQ resident Dennis Innes said the Community Sleepout is a way to bring Queenslanders together in support of the most vulnerable people in their local community.

“People in Far North Queensland on the social housing waitlist right now are waiting the best part of two and a half years for a safe place to call home,” he said.

“That's not a statistic, that's someone's mum, someone's teenager, someone's grandfather sleeping in a car, on a friend's couch or sleeping rough.

“We’re asking Cairns locals to join us in trading their bed for a piece of cardboard for one night, so they can support the thousands of Queenslanders who don't have that choice.

“Queensland has just delivered its biggest CEO Sleepout result ever telling us our community understands the scale of this crisis and is ready to act – let’s bring that generosity of spirit to our own backyard.”

The Society encourages Far North Queensland locals to register for the Sleepout or donate to help give those most vulnerable a hand up.

To find out more or donate, visit: vinniesqld.grassrootz.com/fnq-community-sleepout-2026