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Several of our students and staff swapped their cozy beds for cardboard and sleeping bags on the Optus Stadium concourse at the 2024 Anglicare WA School Sleep Out on Friday 9 August. This year marked Anglicare WA's most successful School Sleep Out Event, with over $200,000 raised. All funds will go to Street Connect, which is a remarkable program that supports young people who are street present or at risk of homelessness. Our ASC community truly stepped up, and we are pleased to have raised over $30,000, far surpassing our goal of $17,000.

Two attendees of the School Sleep Out, Kanin and Madison (both Year 11) have written about the eye-opening experience of sleeping rough for a night.

Kanin's Experience

When we were offered the opportunity to participate in the 2024 Anglicare Sleep Out, it was simply an opportunity I couldn't pass up. It's the opportunity to experience what 3,500 young Western Australians unfortunately must endure every night, sleeping without a home.

I was eager to get involved by gaining a new immersive perspective on what adversities and complications people experiencing homelessness endure every day—also, the causes of homelessness and what we can do to mitigate this ever-growing issue here in Australia.

Upon arriving at Optus Stadium, we received the identity of a fictional person experiencing homelessness and their background. After setting up our sleeping areas (which only consisted of cardboard, a sleeping bag and a pillow), we were divided into groups of people who shared the same identity. As a group, we were given a checklist of things to obtain (an ID, a centre link, a place to stay, etc.), and for an hour, we ran to different stations (such as a post office) in the hopes of obtaining these things. However, this activity was frustrating and stressful at times as we're normally redirected elsewhere and unable to be helped. Though it was a fun activity and being able to meet new people, it highlights the difficulty and frustrations many young Australians unfortunately experience.

Every student involved in the Anglicare Sleep Out actively fundraised in preparation for this event, with all funds raised going straight to Anglicare's WA Street Connect service. This year, I fundraised $8,400 towards the cause. I was grateful and fortunate enough to have raised this amount through the importance of networking. Over the weeks leading up to the Sleep Out, I contacted all of my parents' contacts, spreading awareness of the event and cause and how, through a simple donation, they can forever positively impact the lives of those affected by homelessness.

To those given the opportunity to participate in the Sleep Out, I highly recommend taking up this opportunity. Not only is it a fun experience for you and your mates, but your contribution towards this event will make an enormous difference in the lives of those experiencing homelessness here in Australia.

Kanin was the top fundraising student with $8,500 raised for those affected by homelessness. 

Madison's Experience

The Anglicare WA School Sleep Out is an annual event at Optus Stadium, hosted by Anglicare, that aims to raise awareness about youth homelessness in WA and fund Street Connect. The night sees students from schools across the state, coming together to sleep out on Optus Stadium floors, and experience a small taste of what it might be like to sleep rough as a young person experiencing homelessness. It also provides an avenue for advocacy and awareness of these issues to become more widespread, as more and more people get involved.

Alongside the Sleep Out itself, students and schools fundraise in the leadup to the event, with all money raised going towards Street Connect and its services. Street Connect is a youth outreach service, which provides support, advocacy and referral to the over 3,500 young people experiencing homelessness in WA. This year, the All Saints’ Team was able to surpass our goal far and raise over $30,000, thanks to the dedication and commitment of all the students attending. This led to us being the top donating school, which is an incredible achievement!

The night itself involved an activity (which saw students exploring some of the lesser-known hardships of homelessness through a frustrating game), a pumpkin soup dinner, and the sleepout itself. Using cardboard as our bedding, we all eventually tried to get some rest, only to be awoken by various nuisances (including dog barking, police sirens and flashlights). In the morning, all with very little sleep, we ate breakfast and listened to one last farewell from the organisers of the Sleep out, concluding the event for 2024.

I am incredibly grateful that I was able to attend this year's Sleep Out, and I think that it is an incredibly eye-opening and important experience that I would highly recommend for any young person. I know that it has personally helped me empathise further with people in our community, especially those who are in a position of hardship or struggle. I left the event feeling grateful for the tireless work of the Anglicare staff and volunteers, who dedicate their lives to improving the well-being of others in need.

I was also inspired by the incredible enthusiasm and leadership displayed by all of the students who attended, who also cared deeply about the issue and did everything they could to fundraise and raise awareness within their own communities. This gave me hope that positive change is indeed possible and can happen when passionate people come together with a unified goal in mind.