Jean Madden, a teacher from Brisbane, regularly saw street people on her way to work and was aware that many of them suffered health problems. She determined to do something about it and came up with the idea of a 'Street Swag' that was warm and portable. Many problems presented themselves. How heavy should it be? How would she distribute them? Her research came up with a lighter canvas and a 2m x 2m swag the best size. Her mother sewed the prototypes but Jean also believes that she has a responsibility to provide work to Australians. The swags could be made cheaper overseas but she now gets them made in indigenous communities and jails thus providing more benefits all round. The cost of a Street Swag is $80 and our guest speaker, Ian McWaters, raises money to keep her work going.
To personalise the value of the Street Swags to homeless people Ian painted a graphic picture of the crushing effects of homelessness on an individual. Homelessness is more often than not associated with other problems including marriage breakdowns, suicide, molestation, and official indifference. Homeless people are not accepted socially and become invisible in the community. They live in fear of assault and mistreatment and getting a job is a dream way out their reach.
The story Ian has to tell is compelling. The swags are effective and cheap. Distribution is easy - drop them off a ute where people sleep rough. Most of us live quite privileged lives and $80 is about what we earn in two hours - even less for lots of people in Canberra. Street Swags deserves our support.