Emmanuel College students swapped beds for a night outdoors as they held their annual winter sleepout, on Friday.
The sleepout is an important part of the college’s social justice program, where students choose to spend a night outdoors to raise awareness and funds in support of those experiencing homelessness.
Social Justice captain Kayleigh Caruana said she believes in using her voice and actions to raise awareness.
“I felt it was important to show solidarity with people experiencing homelessness and to support the St Vincent de Paul Foundation, which does life-changing work,” she said.
Kayleigh said from the experience she learnt “how uncomfortable, cold and isolating it can feel to sleep without the security of a home,” and it made her realise how strong and resilient homeless people are.
Faith captain Matthew Sy said the most striking thing he learnt was how quickly things can fall apart.
“It reminded me that homelessness isn’t some distant issue, it’s something that could happen to anyone if their situation changes,” he said.
He said it demonstrates the importance of the sleepout as it helps bring awareness and empathy to real issues.
Kayleigh said it gave her a “small glimpse into the constant discomfort, fear and uncertainty that people experiencing homelessness deal with every day.”
“It’s not just about having nowhere to sleep it’s about surviving in a word that often does not make space for you”
Matthew said understanding the challenges people in the community may be facing made him more aware, compassionate, and motivated to help make a change.
