VCAL News

Students from VCAL recently participated in an excursion visiting The Big Issue and The Salvos Youth Homelessness Tour.

The Big Issue Education workshop was a unique educational experience for our VCAL students as they experienced real-life insight into homelessness and disadvantage as experienced by thousands of Australians every night.

Students heard first-hand from a member of the community who has experienced homelessness and disadvantage as well as participating in activities designed to help break down stereotypes surrounding hardship in our communities, careers, and interactions with others. The workshop also helped our students better understand the unique role of social enterprise in addressing some of Australia’s most critical social issues.

“The Big Issue” employs people experiencing disadvantage to share their personal stories with participants as guest speakers. We had Shane share his story with us all in The Big Issue Classroom.

I feel proud I’m helping kids. It makes me feel good when they thank me for sharing my story. I think that students learn from my story – and know how to ask for help if they need it.  Shane is a guest speaker in Melbourne.

The afternoon saw our students participate in the Youth Homelessness City Tour. Students took time out of their day to learn about The Salvation Army’s response to homelessness, on-location. They participated in a range of activities that challenged stereotypes and supported students to better understand the drivers of homelessness in Australia. The program involved a walking tour of Melbourne’s CBD, where students heard stories that evoked empathy and empowered our young people to see social justice.

A great day was had by all, big thanks to the staff members who supported this worthwhile excursion.

Kim Gray

The Big Issue Excursion

As part of our study of the text ‘The Simple Gift’, students reflect on the issue of homelessness. ‘The Simple Gift’ challenges stereotypes and provides students with insight into the many reasons why some people become homeless. 

On June 6th students in 12Y were able to connect what they had read about in The Simple Gift, to real life experiences of people in our community who have experienced sleeping rough. 

They visited The Big Issue, a social enterprise that enables people to transition out of homelessness by giving them jobs selling The Big Issue magazine and by connecting them with organisations who can reconnect them meaningfully into the community.  At The Big Issue, students listened to the experience of ‘Shane’ who moved them with his story of how he became homeless and the challenges he faced when trying to rebuild his life. They also participated in a puzzle activity that demonstrated how not everyone has equal opportunities to success through no fault of their own and what a struggle it can be to succeed if you are living with a disability or a disadvantage. Students felt enlightened and empathetic after this excursion and many vowed to become active volunteers and supporters of organisations that help the less fortunate in our society. Well done to our students who attended. Staff at The Big Issue commented on how impressed they were by our students’ insightful questions and reflections.         Ms Rehak