Wagga Public students Kingston Tuvale, Amy Lance, Sam Graham and Tom Rake along with Vinnies’ Lincoln Weir gear up for the sleepout. Photo: Supplied.
Wagga Wagga Public School students are preparing to spend a night sleeping outside in the freezing cold this Friday – in an effort to better understand homelessness and raise money for people doing it tough.
Around 35 students will sleep outdoors in sleeping bags or swags, joined by parents and some school staff, as part of the school’s Vinnies School Sleepout.
The annual initiative run by the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW is designed to give school communities a glimpse of what it can be like to sleep rough, while raising funds and awareness for homelessness services.
For the Wagga students, the sleepout comes as the city grapples with a growing homelessness crisis that has captured national attention.
Year 5/6 teacher Alexandra Brentnall said some students were excited and others were a little apprehensive, but the sleepout would be a learning opportunity for all.
“This year, we really wanted to involve our students, who will bring a swag or sleeping bag and sleep outside on some cardboard provided by Vinnies,” she said.
“It will give the kids a chance to understand homelessness and break stereotypes and misconceptions on who they are – and that in Wagga there are a lot of people also couch surfing and sleeping in cars. It’s not just a certain type of people who can become homeless, it can affect so many.”
She said some students were aware about the controversies surrounding the treatment of rough sleepers in Wilks Park and by the Murrumbidgee River.
“Not all the students watch the news, but some of them do and they would’ve been following what’s happening in Wagga and how Vinnies have helped them,” she said.
“We hope this experience will inspire them to perhaps volunteer when they’re older and be part of the solution in the future. This sort of community action can help develop kids as human beings.”
Homeless people staying at Victory Memorial Gardens has sparked debate on if and where they should be relocated. Photo: Chris Roe.
Ms Brentnall said the students’ experience on Friday night would be very different from those who really were homeless.
“We realise we are fortunate to have one night out in the cold and then go home the next day to the comfort of our bed,” she said.
Vinnies members supported more than 2500 people in Wagga and neighbouring communities over the past year, supporting people with food, clothing, bedding, household bills and emotional support.
More than one in three people supported by Vinnies locally were experiencing housing stress, according to the figures provided by the organisation.
“We are also getting students to do a donation drive to bring in blankets and non-perishable foods,” Ms Brentnall said.
The Wagga Wagga Public School Sleepout is aiming to raise $1000 to support local services, with more than $500 raised so far.
The school is also encouraging people to donate blankets and non-perishable food as part of its drive.
The Vinnies School Sleepout is part of a broader effort by St Vincent de Paul Society NSW to raise awareness of homelessness and support people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.
Vinnies operates homelessness services across NSW, including crisis accommodation, outreach to people sleeping rough and support to help people maintain housing and reconnect with their communities.
To support the Wagga Wagga Public School fundraiser, donations can be made through the school’s Vinnies fundraising page.
