Today was probably the most interesting and rewarding day I have had at
Networking WA so far, and without a doubt the most enjoyable. Every year
Networking WA works with Homelessness Australia to organise and promote
Homeless Persons Week WA.
This is something I had been helping to work on since my first day at
Networking WA when I was asked to find a company who could produce
“Dollhouse-esque” donation boxes to be placed in shopping centers (no easy task
let me tell you), so to see it all come together was truly amazing.
Our first port of call for the day was the Homeless Persons Week
conference at Perth City Farm. At the event I took on the position of a
waitress (something I’ve had plenty of experience at) and offered refreshments
and snacks to all attending. Aside from being at an incredibly cool location,
speakers we heard from were inspiring and really broadened my perspective on
being homeless. The event wrapped up a little before lunchtime and then it was
time to head into the city.
Next we visited the photography exhibition by Stuart Holden, titled
“Humans of Western Australia”. The installation was displayed within in
Brookfield Place in the Perth CBD. Humans
of Western Australia a photography blog Stuart runs inspired by the
incredible photography blog Humans of New
York.
As part of Homeless Person’s week Stuart came together with Lotterywest
and Homelessness WA and put together a series of photographs featuring some of
WA’s homeless population. These photographs were presented alongside captions
detailing a little bit of each persons story which resulted in an experience
equal parts chilling and beautiful, and humbling to say the least. (You can
find some of the photos on his Tumblr if anyone is interested - http://humansofwesternaustralia.tumblr.com)
Last up we visited the “roving soup kitchen”- which is essentially
exactly what it sounds like. For Homeless Persons Week a team volunteers of
volunteers will be running a soup kitchen outside of Brookfield Place selling
soup cooked by some of Perth’s best chefs – every day a different soup by a
different chef from some of most glamorous restaurants (hopefully the irony of
the gourmet soup kitchen is not wasted on anyone). The funds will of course go
towards fighting homelessness, but the campaign is about more than that –
raising awareness and creating something that people cannot easily ignore.
I will post a photo of the soup menu so you can get a better grasp of
what I am talking about (we had the minestrone if anyone was wondering).
I hope you’re all enjoying your placements!
Naomi
