The Old Melbourne Gaol is not a place you would usually expect to spend the night. The P&C team braved the cold last Friday to attend not-for-profit Whitelion’s annual Bail Out and Parole Party.
The fundraising campaign, now in its seventh year, provides a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of a young person that has been disconnected from our community due to abuse, neglect, drug addiction or poverty.
During Bail Out, the Melbourne inmates were exposed to life on the inside as they were stripped of possessions, fingerprinted, photographed and shunned into the main exercise yard where they were fed prison gruel.
Inmates then faced judiciary and had their cases heard in the Old Magistrate’s Court before being sentenced to cell time.
After successfully raising a minimum of $1,000 each, the inmates were released (gratefully, we’re sure!) by Whitelion co-founder Glenn Manton into the Bail Out Parole Party, where guests including P&C were checking out the mug shot photobooth, tarot card reading and tattoo stand, all very fitting to the ‘Pub Grunge’ theme of this year’s event.
The inmates are released from their cells in the Old Melbourne Gaol
The rest of the night was filled with street art by the AWOL Crew, buskers and performers and delicious street-style food, where the inmates celebrated their release with family and friends.
Just over $400,000 has been raised for Whitelion Bail Out 2012 so far, and there is still the South Australian Bail Out to go, which will be held on Thursday 16 August at the historic Adelaide Gaol. Visit www.whitelionbailout.org.au to donate and help Whitelion reach their goal of raising $500,000 for youth at risk.
