Students at Thomas Carr College will swap their cosy beds for the gym floor later this month to get a hint of what it’s like to be homeless.
The ‘winter sleepout’, organised by the school’s Young Vinnies Group, will have more than 100 students spending a cold night in the school’s gym to raise money for Vinnies’ work with homeless people.
Year 10 student Alex Oakes, helping organise the sleepout, says it will be a “real eye-opener”.
“It exposes us to what daily life is like for homeless people,” he said.
“We live it for a day, but they might live it for a lifetime.”
The event includes dinner from a soup van, and trivia and shelter-building competitions.
Year 11 student Emily Cassar said spending a night on the gym floor was a difficult experience.
“It’s very different to what we’re used to,” he said. “The gym floor can’t compete with a mattress and Sheridan sheets.”
The college’s social justice co-ordinator, Joanna Grujovski, said students would get a chance to hear from someone who had spent time living on the streets.
“He has been without a home and knows what it’s like not to have a key to a front door,” she said.
“I hope the students will be touched by his experience.”
