VCE Vocational Major Homeless Sleepout

On Tuesday 13th August, the Year 12 VCE Vocational Major students participated in a homeless sleepout. The sleepout was held at school - sleeping outside, roughing it, to spread awareness for those who are less fortunate than us and doing it tough right now. 

We arrived at school at 7pm to start the evening. We sat around a fire, sang songs and roasted marshmallows. At around 8:30pm, we travelled to The Men’s Shed in Ballarat East, which is also home to the Soup Bus. There, we were introduced to Craig Schepis, the founder of the Soup Bus and On Track Foundation. Craig told us about the history of the foundation, showed us a documentary he made and told us about his goals and aspirations for his cause and sharing stories of people he’s met, showing us the impact he has had on the town of Ballarat and what an extraordinary man he is. Personally, I found his story and his experiences moving and it made me quite emotional.   

Arriving back at school at around 10pm, we made soup and hot drinks to keep us warm. We then set up our sleeping areas. 

Now came the hard part… SLEEPING! The night was cold and the ground uncomfortable, I’m not sure about everyone else but it took me ages to go to sleep. Waking up every 30 minutes because the wind blew my blankets off and I started freezing again. No amount of calm music and rugging myself up helped me sleep. 

After a long night, it was finally around 7am. Time to wake up! Hot drinks and toasties were made in the cafe. Everybody was yawning like there's no tomorrow. I think I speak for everyone when I say we wanted to go back to bed and sleep the day away. Everyone packed up their stuff and headed home. 

Overall, this experience tested everyone’s resilience and patience, I know it certainly tested mine. But in saying that, it was a very important and meaningful night, that turned out to be very rewarding. I think it helped gain a better understanding of just how tough a lot of people have it and it helped to spread awareness for those in need. This also encouraged us to volunteer and help where we can in our wider community. 

Taya Roberts

VM Student