Pastoral Care
"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned."
- Maya Angelou
Thursday evening students from the year 10 “Justice Matters Team” and the year 11 “Social & Wellbeing Committee” hosted the annual MCC Vinnie’s Sleepout. The organisers had decided to focus the evening on youth homelessness and were asked to make a donation of either a pair of socks or toiletry item which will be given to St Vincent de Paul to be distributed to those in need within our community.
Over 50 students and several staff members participated in workshops with industry professionals from “Youth Links” Griffith to demystify and dispel the common stereotypical ideas associated with youth homelessness.
Myth 1: People choose to be homeless
Myth 2: All homeless people live on the streets or in parks
Myth 3: All homeless people are addicts
Myth 4: Homeless People Aren’t Trying
Myth 5: Homelessness Is a Choice
Myth 6: Homelessness Is a City Problem
Students were given the opportunity to ask questions and hear firsthand the reality regarding youth homelessness in Griffith. One of the surprising facts identified was that within the last year case managers had provided intense personal service for over 300 young people which required organising crisis accommodation for more than 1600 nights; amazing statistics.
As part of their “Mythbusting” the students discovered that the most common form of homelessness for young people comes in the form of “Couch Surfing” moving from one temporary housing arrangement to another. As a symbolic representation of this, students created an artwork which shall be on display over the coming week to remind us of the plight of those who may be at risk; or who are a part of the growing number of youth who are homelessness.
In addition to the workshops the night was recorded and the footage will be used to create a short film/documentary by creative director Mrs Dona Parise. The film will be utilised as an educational resource by “Youth Links” within the Western Riverina region. This was a wonderful opportunity for our students and an honour to be asked to be involved in such an activity.
The film shall be launched hopefully before the end of term and the students and staff alike; are eagerly awaiting the finished product.
The night concluded with a moving reflection which gave everyone the opportunity to appreciate how fortunate they are to be safe, be valued, be loved and have a place to call home.
The organising committee are extremely grateful for the MCC staff who selflessly volunteered their time for supervision for without their commitment and involvement the night would not be possible.
Earlier in the week student volunteers also helped out at the Pink Breakfast which raises much needed funds for support of members of our community who are directly impacted by breast cancer.
I am always overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of our students and their eagerness to help others. For many it was the first time they had volunteered at a community event and as always their friendly personality and work ethic was noted by members of the community. The students were wonderful ambassadors for our school and a credit to their families.
We have completed our CAREVAN cooking obligations for 2017 and the next major activity we shall be conducting is creating our famous Christmas Hampers later in the term. It is amazing how quickly the year has flown!
I hope that everyone has a great week and takes the time to appreciate all that is good in your life and how fortunate we are to be involved in a community where generosity of spirit and time is given freely.
Regards Sue Hone (Pastoral Care Worker)
