To begin the evening, Brooke Simmons, a volunteer from St Vincent de Paul, spoke to the students about the extensive services and support provided by the organisation and importance of the Winter Sleepout through her own experience. Her testimony served as a reminder of the difficult circumstances many people experience, even within the Hunters Hill area. Then students organised snack and toiletry packs that were donated from the College community for the Vinnies Winter Appeal. These packs will be delivered to Vinnies Van Services in Lewisham and Ryde.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Afterwards students were provided with an extremely simple dinner, enabling them to understand the physical extremities people experiencing homelessness face. Dinner was followed by an activity called the Privilege Walk. Facilitated by the Marists in Action (MIA) group, the aim of this session was for students to reflect on their privilege in contrast to those experiencing hardships.\u00a0 The night concluded with a TV program called \u2018Filthy, Rich and Homeless\u2019 which was about five high-profile Australians who agree to swap their privileged lifestyles for ten days of being homeless in NSW. The program enabled students to gain a deep insight into the complex causes of homelessness and become aware of the huge impact housing can have on peoples\u2019 lives. The Winter Sleepout finished at 7 am on Saturday, 15 June.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Thank you to Samantha Ison, Jen Dove, Laura Marshall, Bonnie Chen, Josh Allen, Angus Bray, Matthew Iskander and Anne Ireland who gave up their warm beds for the whole night or supervised parts of the evening.\u00a0 A huge thank you to Jenny Vu for organising the Winter Sleepout and the collection and packing of much-needed items for St Vincent de Paul.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-20-at-10.53.41-am.png\")
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