HOMELESSNESS

On Wednesday 15th September, the Year 8 I&E Humanities class took part in a virtual incursion as part of the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series [VCES] that is open to all high ability students in DET Government Schools. 

The focus of the day was “Homelessness: How can we help?”? 

Ms Wilson and Ms Howard accompanied the students for the day. It was an interschool challenge with two other secondary colleges in Melbourne, and our students did a fantastic job representing our school. 

Here are the student reflections on the day: 

Phoebe Page, 8I 

On Wednesday, students in the Year 8 I&E class participated in an inter-school online incursion on homelessness and potential solutions. The day was run by the Victorian Commercial Teachers Association (VCTA) and the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series (VCES), with guest speakers from the Big issue and the Salvation Army. We started off the day with a presentation from the Big Issue. We learnt about the causes and statistics surrounding homelessness. We then heard from Genise, a former homeless person, who talked about her story and where she is now. After that, we heard from the Salvation Army, they talked about how they get funds and volunteers and what programs they have. Afterwards,  we worked in groups to come up with a service or product that could potentially help get the home off the streets or at least aid them. We had to consider things such as how we will reach the homeless, the ethics, economical, social and environmental considerations and so much more. The whole day was very interesting as it gave us a new perspective regarding homeless people and broke down our prejudices towards them. I would highly recommend this incursion as it used many skills such as critical thinking, to teach us things that aren’t included in the curriculum at school. 

Jackson Sze, 8I 

During the incursion, I took in many things and left the incursion with a whole new perspective on homeless people. When you think of homeless people, you think of that dirty old man begging on the side of the street; however, I learned today that most homeless people are younger people escaping from their homes because of abuse. I also learned that most homeless people are couch surfing or staying at a hotel, whereas sleeping rough on the sleep with an old blanket. Whenever I go out and see a homeless person, they are almost all sleeping rough. You never notice the actual number of homeless people because they don’t all live on the street. This incursion has taught me so much about  the struggle they go through. This is why the Salvos and Big Issue are great, because they give homeless people opportunities to contribute to society. This incursion has truly inspired me. 

Nick Graham, 8I I learnt a lot from the incursion we had. We got to hear different homeless people’s stories, how they persisted and how they ultimately got out of the near ‘closed loop’ system of being stuck on the streets. My group and I now value what we have a lot more and are far more grateful for what we have that some other people don’t have access to, like food and water (basic human rights). Overall, the day was good, and we all learnt a lot as a collective unit.