Issues not slept on

By Meg Kennedy

Students at St Brigid’s Primary School in Ballan experienced ‘sleeping rough’ earlier this month to raise awareness for homelessness.

Grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 students conducted a sleep-out in the school’s library on the night of Thursday, 5 September, sleeping on cardboard boxes to get a small taste of what it might be like to sleep rough for the night.

Teacher Chelsea Brennan said the idea came about after the school’s Social Justice student group wanted to raise awareness for homelessness, but through more than a standard gold coin donation.

“With some of my work previously with St Vincent de Paul when I was at university, I had heard of many groups having ‘sleep-outs’,” said Ms Brennan.

“I brought forward the idea – not really knowing what it would entail – to the Social Justice group and they loved the idea, as it was more than just raising money; its main purpose was building awareness of homelessness.”

The sleepout night included a film viewing that explored negative stereotypes of homelessness, a basic dinner of soup and bread, an information session on homelessness, card games that allowed the students to ‘switch off’ from technology and connect with others, and writing notes to accompany canned goods to be donated.

“It is so important to challenge our students beyond their own personal experiences and provide them with opportunities to put themselves in other people’s shoes,” said Ms Brennan.

Doing so helps to build their understanding and empathy towards others, and they are more likely to be motivated to take action against social justice issues such as homelessness.”

In total, the students raised $1052.70 for St Vincent de Paul, as well as 123 cans of non-perishables and seven blankets.