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Year 12 Winter
Sleep Out
With the
temperature dropping to a chilly 4 degrees students from
Tenison Woods College were recently asked to give up their
comfort for a night to eat and live as a homeless person
does.
On Friday
evening over 30 Year 12 students from the College bedded
down under the stars without any of their usual comforts to
gain an insight into the issue of homelessness, and to raise
funds to support those for whom it is a reality.
With the
awful weather refusing to put them off, the fund raising
event with a difference required students to obtain
sponsorship donations from family and friends with funds
going to the St Vincent De Paul’s Winter Appeal to help
carry out their vital work in the community.
The Winter Appeal takes place each year from May to August
and raises funds for men, women and children living on the
streets or those in need of extra help and support during
the coldest months of the year.
Although
not totally living as a homeless person, students did have
shelter from the rain, warm clothes and a sleeping bag.
To help students get
through the long, cold evening,
a bowl of hot soup and a roll for
dinner
was served and made by fellow students, staff and parents.
The
sleep-out was an initiative of College captains Fran
McInerney & Angus Short, who wanted to raise awareness and
give students the experience first-hand the plight of the
homeless.
“Overall
the experience was an eye opener for all involved to the
difficulties faced by those who
are
homeless and have to live each and every night on the street.”
 Of
the 105,000 homeless people in Australia, nearly half are
under 25 years of age and 12,000 are children under the age
of 12.
“Homelessness is becoming an increasingly common issue
amongst Australians, particularly the youth of Australia.”
“More
than often, we take for granted what we have and this event
was an excellent way to show our support for the needy.”
Miss McInerney said
The theme
for the Winter Appeal this year was - ‘Tomorrow can be
different’. Vinnies asked hundreds of men, women and
children overwhelmed by life’s hardships to contribute to a
collective journal describing through words or pictures,
what ‘Today’ meant to them.
The
result is a powerful and honest journal detailing the
loneliness, depression and fear that can often accompany
poverty.
The St.
Vincent de Paul Society has been present in Australia since
1854. In 2007-08 the Society in Australia responded to
nearly 600,000 calls for financial or material assistance,
operated 636 ‘Vinnies shops’, provided around 2,350 beds a
night to people needing accommodation and provided over an
estimated one million meals.
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