Sleepout for Soul: meet the guests getting their lives back on track

But for guests such as Ben Johnson and Carlo De Luca, walking through the doors at Newcastle's Soul Hub was the turn that got them on the right track.

"I've had some things happen in my life, my confidence, self-esteem and all that, it had just sort of gone out the window," Mr De Luca said.

"Coming to Soul, I gained some confidence in myself.

"I had lost a lot of trust in people, but I'm slowly getting that trust back."

Homeless and living on the streets, Mr De Luca connected with Soul Hub about four years ago at one of the lowest points in his life.

Now, he volunteers one day a week himself, helping in the pantry and dishing out hot meals to people who, just like him, have been down on their luck.

"They've done a lot for me, so I like giving a little back," Mr De Luca said.

"This is a special place, I don't know if this is anywhere else in Australia, but I think we've got something unique here.

"They've changed my life, I feel like I'm part of a family."

The grassroots, volunteer-driven charity specialises in supporting vulnerable, homeless, mentally unwell, socially isolated and addicted people in Newcastle.

Devoid of government funding, Soul Hub relies on the generosity of locals and its annual fundraiser, Sleepout for Soul.

There's a lot of talk about a "convergence of help" at Soul. Whether that's access to the food pantry, a place to play board games, see a doctor, lawyer or connect with Service NSW - something as simple as a hair cut could be a stepping stone to leaving addiction behind.

This year, Soul Hub hopes to host 350 sleepers and raise $200,000 for the city's most vulnerable.

With the service having one paid staff member and 265 volunteers, the money raised went directly to the people who needed it most, general manager Matt Ortiger said.

"We do whatever we can, with whatever we have, for whoever walks through our door," he said.

"Most people think we're a homeless service, but we're more than that, we have people who are at risk of homelessness, people who are addicted and people who are mentally unwell - some of them are just lonely, they're coming in because they're socially isolated and this is the place where they can find community.

"If there's 100 people through the building, there's 99 different stories."

Stories like Mr Johnson's, who was evicted from his home and now lives in his car.

His first experience at Soul was a bit "daunting", but soon after he was approached by a volunteer who asked about his story.

"I didn't really care if I lived or died, so it was sort of easy to just sit in the car," he said.

"I'd had a serious breakdown about three years' prior, I couldn't run my businesses and my partner left, I'd lost the house and I couldn't earn any money.

"I didn't so much care about my situation, I had serious deep depression and so nothing phased me, so I was just happy to sit at the boat ramp and just drink all day."

Since coming to Soul, Mr Johnson said things had started to look up, he's looking after his health and had even started volunteering a couple of days a week.

"I'm pretty good now, I had a serious problem," he said.

"My back and my health has improved remarkably, which has helped my head as well, and then coming down here, seeing the boys and the staff - they're always friendly and laughing."

Soul Hub has invited the Newcastle community to join them at the Bolton Street car park, with food trucks, live music, games and fire pits for its Sleepout fundraiser on Friday, May 17.

For those who can't make it to the car park, the option is available to host a Sleepout at home.

Just like their guests, everyone's welcome, because nobody's perfect and anything is possible.

For more information visit soul-hub.grassrootz.com/2024-sleepout-for-soul