General News
4 August, 2026
No place to call home
AS community leaders prepare to spend a night sleeping outdoors for the Vinnies FNQ Community Sleepout, two Cairns men say finding a safe place to live has become one of the biggest challenges they are facing.
The annual fundraiser at Cazalys Stadium on Friday 7 August aims to raise $70,000 to support people experiencing homelessness across Far North Queensland.
Organisers say the event also aims to raise awareness of the growing housing crisis, with Anglicare North Queensland reporting more than 500 requests for specialist youth homelessness accommodation were turned away in a single year because there was nowhere for those young people to go.
Cairns Local News interviewed two men who are both currently experiencing homelessness in Cairns.
James (surname withheld), 35, has been couch surfing and occasionally sleeping rough after losing his rental home.
“I’ve got a housing application in. I’ve been on the list for about two years,” he said.
“I go and visit them on a regular basis too and get told the same story every time. There's just nothing available.”
James moved to Far North Queensland from Victoria six years ago after a divorce. After securing a rental through a friend, he said rising interest rates led to the property being sold, leaving him without permanent accommodation. Medically unfit to work, he now relies on temporary places to stay and sometimes sleeps on the streets.
“They just need to build more houses ... because it's the same old story every time,” he said.
Brendan Sellers is also trying to rebuild his life after recently being released from prison in South Australia.
He said he had stopped using methamphetamine and travelled to Cairns to make a fresh start but had struggled to find accommodation.
Mr Sellers said he was sleeping rough while waiting for accommodation applications to be processed.
“Yeah, I'm sleeping rough because I can't stay at my mum’s,” he said.
“I reckon they need to start looking after the homeless a little bit better.”
Cazalys Stadium general manager Craig Lees said the sleepout was one of the most meaningful events hosted each year.
“As someone who’s fortunate enough to have a roof over my head every night, spending one night outside is a small sacrifice if it helps raise awareness and much-needed funds for people in our community who are doing it tough,” he said.
