FRANKSTON Council’s mayor and CEO raised more $13,000 to help people experiencing homelessness by taking part in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout.
Last month, Cr Sue Baker and council CEO Tennille Bradley joined 350 strangers to sleep outside in an inner-city parking lot. The money they raised will fund the equivalent of 110 beds, 450 meals and more than 40 individual support programs.
Council estimates that around 50 people sleep in Frankston’s streets and parks each night. After the CEO Sleepout event, Cr Baker said “hearing that women and children fleeing domestic and family violence are in the largest group experiencing homelessness in Australia was confronting.”
“On the train back to Frankston, I reflected on many of my decision points throughout my life, some conscious, some not, about how to spend money, when to save it, using it sparingly as a single Mum,” Cr Baker said. “It made me consider; what were my sliding door moments, when did I make one decision over another, turn left rather than right which could have landed me somewhere quite different.
“It reinforced just how quickly circumstances can change, and that homelessness can affect people from all walks of life. Everyone deserves a roof over their head and to feel safe.”
During the 2026 state election campaign, Frankston Council will advocate for a $2.5 million commitment towards its “Frankston Zero” program. A council statement read that Frankston Zero “brings services together to identify people sleeping rough early and provide coordinated support until safe and stable housing is achieved.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 4 August 2026