This Aussie is building a fleet of repurposed buses to give the homeless a place to sleep

1_repurposed buses to give the homeless a place to sleep

BY: JACK M.

Simon Rowe knows what it’s like to be homeless, because he’s been there. Evicted from his apartment in Melbourne 23 years ago, Rowe was homeless, and for four months his old car was his castle. So he knows firsthand the challenge and despair that can go hand-in-hand with living on the streets. Around the world tens of millions of people are forced to call the streets home, and on any given night in Australia alone, there are tens of thousands of people who sleep in shelters, on park benches and in back alleys. But Rowe was luckier than most. He recovered from his financial troubles and found gainful employment working as a chef and an entrepreneur. Life was good again.

A few months ago, however, while going about his daily routine in Melbourne, 43-year-old Simon had an experience that would change his direction and purpose in life. By accident, he came across a homeless man wrapped up in a blanket and lying on a concrete floor in an unused doorway. Rowe stopped to chat with him, and asked if he was okay. “Yeah mate, thanks, just trying to get some sleep,” replied the homeless man. They chatted for a bit, shook hands and parted ways. But that momentary meeting made Rowe realize that of all the indignities and hardships that homeless people have to suffer through, sleep – or the lack of it – has got to be close to the top of the list. Nights for the homeless are particularly dangerous – bad weather, lack of security, muggings and harassment all take their toll.

The need to help the homeless, even in some small way, became a mission that the once-homeless Rowe couldn’t ignore or get out of his mind. He tossed around a few ideas with some friends, and eventually he came up with a unique solution for the sleep problem – the SleepBus. With the help of social media, a small army of volunteers and a crowdfunding campaign, which has brought in over $50,000 so far, Simon expects the project to begin operating sometime this coming May.

Rowe will buy some old buses and convert them into a fleet of sleeping pods on wheels. The converted buses will each have 22 pods, each pod big enough for one adult. Every pod will have a full-sized mattress, clean linen and pillow, a locker to hold personal items, a television, ample lighting and each will be temperature-controlled. In addition to the sleeping quarters, the buses will have two fully equipped bathrooms, a place for pets, additional under-bus storage and a built-in security and intercom system. And each bus will have its own overnight caretaker to take care of any problems that may arise.

Simon has had his critics as well. What happens, he’s asked – and it will undoubtedly happen – when a “guest” becomes a troublemaker, or overdoses? Or even dies? “It’s going to happen,” Rowe says, “but I don’t think we should be afraid of it. If something happens in a SleepBus, there’s a better chance that they can get help than if they’re under a bridge.” But the bottom line is this: one SleepBus will supply 8,030 nights of sleep and safety every year to some of Australia’s less fortunate citizens. Long term, the plan is to have as many as 300 repurposed buses on the road within six years, but in the meantime you can follow Rowe and his project on his Facebook page.