Perth electrician Bill Simpson is putting himself through hell by going homeless for 10 days in a bold bid to raise $100,000 for those sleeping rough.
The sparkie began his arduous journey on Monday and will survive on the streets of Perth with nothing but the clothes on his back as he looks to emulate the life that WA’s homeless experience every day.
Inspired by marathon maniac Nedd Brockmann, Mr Simpson is aiming high with an ambitious goal of raising $100,000 in Nedd’s Uncomfortable Challenge for homeless charity We Are Mobilise.
The idea spawned from connecting with homeless locals in Kalgoorlie, Mr Simpson felt compelled to make an impact.
“I left (Kalgoorlie) thinking ‘I’ve got to do something more than just buying homeless people food on the street’,” he said.
“(Going homeless for 10 days) had me s..ting my pants at the thought of it . . . that moment was when I decided to do it.”
After weeks of fundraising and spreading awareness, Mr Simpson began his 10-day journey on Monday, October 19, putting himself through the wringer for the noble cause.
“For the first 24 hours I will isolate, I’ll find somewhere to sit and fast, get some ruggedness about me to build a little bit of authenticity with the experience,” he said.
“After that I will beg for food, from there I will move into the city and some of the more populated areas of homelessness.
“It’s not to say that what I will be experiencing is actual homelessness, because I will have the opportunity to leave after 10 days.”
A cause that he is deeply passionate about, Mr Simpson said there are plenty of misconceptions about the homelessness crisis gripping Australia.
Something he hopes the 10-day journey can highlight to more people.
“Something that I hear the most when I talk to people about homelessness is, ‘Why don’t they just go and get a job’?,” he said.
“It can be hard for people, even with a roof over their head and food on the table.
“Let alone when the streets have battered you, you’re sleep deprived, you don’t have somewhere to shower.
“That would make it all the more harder to just show up and get a job.”
Regular updates of Mr Simpson’s journey will be posted to his Instagram, but not from the man himself.
Armed with a phone to document his journey, Mr Simpson will send footage and updates to a third party company that will manage his social media for the 10 days.
Any donations that are made or support sent will go unnoticed by Mr Simpson until his brutal 10 days are up.
“That’s honestly where a lot of the fright or fear in my body has been,” he said.
“I’ve put all this effort into this, I’m actually going to be completely blank to the results until I get out of this 10 days.”
Any donations to Bill’s uncomfortable challenge can be made at his fundraising page.