Senior Students Sleep Out To Support The Parramatta Women’s Shelter

Students slept in the open area of the Sister Barbara McDonough Building on Friday 13th June as a fundraising and awareness raising activity for the Parramatta Women's Shelter.

Senior students raised funds for Parramatta Women’s Shelter through a winter sleep out.

Last Friday night over 70 Catherine McAuley senior students gave up their beds to sleep out at school as a fundraising and awareness activity to support the Parramatta Women’s Shelter.

The Sleepout was designed to raise awareness to the plight of women, who as a result of domestic violence, find themselves homeless. “Students chose to step away from the comfort of their homes to spend one night confronting the cold reality that far too many Australians face every day,” said Luanda L.-C., Assistant Leader of Social Justice and Lara Z., Assistant Leader of Liturgy. “The Sleepout was more than just a fundraiser, it’s about empathy, education and action. It’s about understanding a problem that’s easy to overlook when we are not directly affected by it.”

Students donated $40 to take part in the Sleepout and were able to bring an additional $3 in coins to contribute to their group purchased dinner from the nearby Coles. Time was spent during the evening listening to an insightful presentation from the Assistant Leaders of both Social Justice and Liturgy on homelessness in Australia and how it can particularly affect women. Following this the students slept in the open area of the Sister Barbara McDonough Building.

“According to the 2021 Census, over 122,000 people in Australia were experiencing homelessness on Census night”, Luanda and Lara told the students in their presentation. “And while we often think of homelessness as a male issue, the statistics show a different story. The rate of homelessness among women has been steadily increasing - from 38 per 10,000 in 2006 to 42 in 2021.”

“In addition, 1 in 7 people experiencing homelessness are children under the age of 12. Children who should be in warm beds are instead facing cold nights, sleeping in cars and tents. They carry with them the trauma of instability, the kind of trauma that lasts a lifetime.”

Luanda and Lara spoke about how for women and children in particular it is domestic and family violence which remains one of the biggest drivers of homelessness. “Recent data from specialist services shows that over a quarter of all people seeking homelessness assistance were escaping domestic or family violence. 3 out of 4 of them were women and nearly half were single mothers with children.”

“We cannot say that one night sleeping rough will let us fully understand what it means to be homeless but what we're doing is choosing discomfort, just for one night, to raise awareness, compassion and most importantly, action,” Luanda and Lara said. “We are here to raise real funds that will go towards the Parramatta Women’s Shelter working to break this cycle and give people a chance at stability and safety.”