Everyone needs someone in their corner. This winter, that someone could be you.
Your gift can help make someone feel loved, and not forgotten.
As the cold winter months approach, the harsh reality of sleeping rough becomes even more pressing. Exposure to such tough conditions can be life-threatening, which is why it is so important to be there for those who need us over winter.
Every day, Wayside Chapel are on the frontline responding to urgent and complex needs for the people who walk through our doors.
Last year, we had over 18,000 visits to our Community Service Centres over the winter months. Colder days and longer nights mean more people seek out warm clothes and blankets, hot meals at our Community Cafes as well as housing support and medical referrals.1
We are here to provde all of that practical support, as well as a sense of community and a place to go where people can know they are not forgotten.
You can ensure Wayside provides unconditional acceptance and love that helps our visitors know there's always someone in their corner.
"It feels pretty good to have a big brother... someone in your corner." — CJ, Wayside Visitor
CJ's Story
Winter is an especially dangerous time to be sleeping rough on Sydney's streets.
The cold and the dark make everything harder. For the 283 visitors who come through Wayside's doors each day, the greatest fear isn't always the weather — it's the feeling that no one is fighting for you.
CJ knows that feeling well.
After a difficult divorce CJ moved to Sydney for a fresh start. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he suddenly lost his job — leaving him in a new city with no income and his friends and family far away.
He found himself alone, sleeping rough in Sydney. Severe asthma had already sent him to hospital more than 25 times and nearly killed him. Chronic gum disease had left him unable to eat.
Then he found Wayside, and Nate, and experienced something different. Not a short-term fix, but someone who showed up for him. Someone who spent months navigating the system to find him a home. Someone who refused to let him down.
Nate (left) and CJ (right) share a conversation at Wayside's 'Horseshoe', a place where people from all walks of life can gather and connect.
What does your donation do?
More Australians, long accustomed to getting by, are now precariously close to hunger or homelessness due to a rental hike or unforeseen bill.
Last year, we had over 18,000 visits over the hard winter months. This year, we expect that number to increase.
Your support this winter will help us meet this urgent and rising demand.
Please give today.
In the last year2, we are so grateful that you have enabled us to provide...
57,391 essential items of clothing and bedding
11,488 warm showers to people sleeping rough
89,378 nutritious, low-cost meals
Thanks to you, we'll be here to deliver love and connection.
As a frontline organisation, Wayside Chapel plays an essential part in providing unconditional love, care and support for some of Sydney's most vulnerable people. This includes those who are experiencing homelessness and social isolation, and who are facing physical and mental health challenges.
Everyone who walks through our doors is a person to be met, not a problem to be solved.
And those doors are only open because of people like you. With your support, we can give people the help they need when they arrive at Wayside Chapel — food and clean clothing, shower and toilet facilities, referrals to housing and healthcare referrals and a space to feel welcome, to feel part of a community again.
It's a space where you help us create community with no 'us and them'.
Please make your donation today - Thank you for choosing Love over Hate.
All donations to Wayside Chapel over $2 are tax-deductible.
If you have any questions or would like to make a donation over the phone, please call (02) 9581 9101.
Alternatively, you can email winter@waysidechapel.org.au.
2 The above figures reported from our 2025 Annual Report.
