Couch Surfing 2022
Since 2012, Anglicare NT’s Couch Surfing event – held annually each April to coincide with National Youth Week and National Youth Homelessness Matters Day – has brought the community together to raise awareness for youth homelessness.
By Tierney Seccull
And with 28,000 young Aussies aged 12-25 years without a home to go to each night, the Northern Territory topping the list with the highest rates of youth homelessness in the country, it’s an important conversation that needs to continue.
This month marks 10 years of the popular event, Anglicare NT again teaming up with City of Darwin’s LAUNCH Darwin, which sees people from a range of backgrounds hightail it down the road on, you guessed it, a couch.
Couches are sourced second-hand and fitted with secure wheels on their bases, perfect for high-speed racing. In the lead up to the big day, workshops in Darwin and Palmerston allow budding couch cruisers to design and decorate team couches with coloured paints, glitter, quotes and messages about their dreams. And boy, are these some good-lookin’ lounges.
Local businesses have chipped in to donate funds and a swag of great prizes, with a chance to score big for the race and best-decorated couch. With free entertainment, food and drinks, plus information from local organisations about what young people can do if they find themselves or a friend in crisis, it’s a light way to build awareness on a heavy topic.
Anglicare NT CEO Dave Pugh says, although they’ve achieved a lot of awareness of the event’s last 10 years, there’s still more to be done.
“We as a community, network of service providers and government agencies have more work to do,” he says.
“Young Territorians need a strong start, stable family and support system, opportunities to learn, jobs, access to affordable housing and, importantly, hope for the future.”
So head along for a bit of fun and catch a couch race or two, all for a very good cause.
Couch Surfing 2022
WHEN WED 20 APR | 10.30AM-3PM
AT CIVIC PARK
COST FREE
INFO anglicare-nt.org.au | launchdarwin.com.au
Photos: Couch Surfing 2021, Tymunna Clements – Launch Media
