LEETON High School students are prepared to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to dealing with the real issues they see going on around them.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Students from Leeton High School are currently organising an event to raise awareness and funds for homeless people.
They see it as a real issue in the shire even though it may not actually be able to be "seen" by everyone.
Year 11 students Grace Korovata, Abbey Snell and Kaila De Paoli have banded together to help combat the problem.
They will be hosting a "sleep out" event at the school on September 13 where students will be sleeping rough and only eating the bare minimum.
They will take shelter in the school's MPC, using cardboard boxes as mats and the basic essentials to keep warm.
MORE NEWS
There will be informative games and speeches on the night, including from mayor Paul Maytom, to further highlight the issue. Money will be raised to assist Leeton's St Vincent De Paul deal with the issue.
Donations of perishable food items will also be accepted.
"Students will get a bit of a feel of how these people live so they know it's an issue that doesn't just affect people in the city," Abbey said.
"Homelessness is an issue here in Leeton. There's people who 'couch surf' and really don't have a place to go.
"Just because you don't see it, it doesn't mean it's not happening."
The trio are hoping the event will be the first of many held at the school and is open to students from years 10 to 12.
According to St Vincent De Paul, 801 clients in the Murrumbidgee region were assisted in 208 when it comes to the homelessness issues. Of these, 234 were under the age of 34.
With one in eight Australians also living in poverty, the trio are hoping to raise as much money as possible for the organisation and they've already held a bake sale to do so.
"We've had a lot of interest from the students ... we've got about 70 interested so far," Kaila said.
Grace was hopeful the event would help remove the stigma surrounding the issue and said the students would be in a safe environment for the night.
"We want to make it as realistic as possible, but it's also the first event, so we want people to come back when we hold it again," she said.
While the sleep out is only open to students from Leeton High, members of the community are welcome to donate to the cause, which can be done by dropping in to the school's front office.
****
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Friday at 6am from The Irrigator. To make sure you're up to date with all news in Leeton sign up here.
