It’s Nearly School Sleepout
Time Again
Kelly Keall, Community Engagement Manager
The Anglicare WA School Sleep Out gets bigger every year. This year will be our ninth and by the time we kick off on the afternoon of 9 August we will have gathered more than 500 students from 20 high schools at Optus Stadium. This year we will also be remotely joined by students gathering separately at their schools in Esperance and Exmouth.
So, what is the Anglicare WA School Sleep Out all about? Most importantly the event drives awareness of the gravity of youth homelessness in Western Australia and gives students an insight into some of its complexities. We use a simulation exercise to illustrate some of the challenges faced by homeless young people and the difficulties they face securing accommodation, financial support and even food. Young people universally report an improved understanding and greater empathy at the end of the exercise.
Once the work is done all participants get some soup and cardboard to see them through the night. The timing of the event in August means that the weather plays a big part in the experience and some years have been very wet and cold. Just like life on the street.
Over the last eight years thousands of Western Australian students have taken part in the Anglicare WA School Sleep Out. On top of the learning they experience, all of these young people raise funds to support young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
I asked one of our students from last year to tell us what the School Sleep Out is all about. William Lewis, 16, from Christ Church Grammar School took part in the event last year. This is his perspective:
To put it simply, the Anglicare WA School Sleep Out at Optus Stadium was an incredible and unforgettable event, and one that I feel immensely privileged to have been able to partake in.
Initially not knowing what the night would have in store, I had high expectations upon arriving, after seeing both the sheer number of students and ambassadors as well as the Matagarup Bridge lit up in blue and orange – both which were welcoming sights that set the tone for a great evening. I was not disappointed, with a great assortment of varied activities including building a makeshift cardboard shelter, receiving soup from a soup kitchen and attempting to succeed in a simulation designed to test our patience and show us what life on the streets can be like.
Although all the activities were completed in good spirits, we learnt lots about the frustration and challenges of being homeless, as well as the benefits that Street Connect and Anglicare WA can provide to homeless youth in Perth. Before we knew it, the night was over, and after a short and cold sleep, it was time to pack up and head home.
I left the experience with a small sense of understanding and appreciation of my personal home situation and realised what less fortunate people across WA experience on a daily basis including youth our age. I thoroughly enjoyed the Sleep Out, both through the activities and socialisation, but also through the educational and inspirational benefit it provided.
I am extremely grateful to have been a part of the Anglicare WA School Sleep Out experience in 2023!
Image: William Lewis, 16, being interviewed during the 2023 School Sleep Out
We can’t wait to welcome more compassionate students like William to Optus Stadium this year and wish all those attending the best of luck.
Also, I want to say a big thank you to the Anglican Community Fund who support the event every year and help make the event a success.