On Friday 11 June, 120 students participated in the Vinnies Sleep Out.

The Sleep Out involves experiencing a night out in the cold, with the aim to raise awareness and educate on homelessness and collect much-needed donations.

Thank you to the following staff who came and supported the event: Mr Italiano, Ms Bird, Ms Farrington, Mrs Mothiram and to the following staff who braved the cold with the students: Ms Thomas, Mr Maye, Mr Andrews, Mrs Wooltorton, Ms Berndt, Ms Johnson, Mrs Finneran and Mr Borg.

Please see below a reflection completed by Year 11 student Molly Dawkins who was in attendance:

The Vinnies Sleep Out is a great event held every year at AvÐÔ°® for Year Tens and above. The experience focuses on providing students insight into the lives of the homeless, through sleeping outside in cardboard boxes. While this increased awareness and empathy, but also is valuable experience that I will never forget. I also learnt about initiatives that can help the homeless and who we can serve these people. I leave the Vinnies Sleep Out each year inspired to discover more about homelessness in our state as well as energised and excited to discover new ways to help others. As a result, I found the experience to be generally positive and uplifting. What I find most important about this experience is how it gives personal insight into the daily struggles and emotions of the homeless and what they might be feeling and why. For example, the lack of community and loneliness they feel as well as the feeling of being forgotten by society.

The guest speaker at the sleepout as well as teachers from our school commented on the large number of students that attended this year. Upon reflection on this I have become inspired by my peers and proud of my community for our care and service of others. I believe that it is incredibly beneficial to discover injustice and explore faith in action as a community and that community can enhance these experiences. The Vinnies Sleep Out is a prime example of this and I feel lucky to have such a great community where by comparison many homeless people do not. Throughout the experience the ties between gender equality and homelessness stood out to me and became more and more prominent as we discussed and learnt more throughout the night. An issue that has become quite prominent recently is the growing number of retired women who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness because of the reduced superannuation they experience in comparison with their male counterparts. The high numbers of homeless women that have experienced both domestic and sexual violence also stood out to me as well as the increased danger that women experience when homeless. I feel a sense of solidarity with these women as well as a sense of responsibility to stand up for them as some of the most vulnerable homeless people.