Australian Catholic University (ACU) students at Brisbane, Ballarat and Canberra campuses recently broadened their awareness of homelessness by taking part in “A bad night’s sleep for a good cause”.
The students slept outside on the campuses for the St Vincent de Paul Society’s winter appeal on Friday night, May 15, through to the following morning.
ACU National McAuley (Brisbane campus) Student Association president Christine Tesch said students, particularly on the colder southern campuses, had gained a good sense of the harsh conditions faced by the homeless.
“A common opinion was how hard it must be to live in these conditions all the time,” Ms Tesch said.
A live video link was broadcast between the campuses so students could see how their peers were faring.
A major learning from the experience was the complexity of homelessness, Ms Tesch said.
A documentary on the Salvation Army’s Oasis project for the homeless was shown in conjunction with an hour’s silence from 9.15-10.15pm.
A prayer started the time of silence.
“Since many of us have had little to do with the homeless it was a big learning experience,” Ms Tesch said.
“The sleep-out informed me that homelessness is a much bigger and more complex problem than I realised.
“I now know that most young people are not living on the streets by choice but have the situation forced on them – by addictions, abuse, no family support and so on …”
