In a move to raise awareness for the experience of homelessness, Alan Barwin and his 8th Grade Social Justice class at Central Middle School will be spending the night outside.
According to a CHEK News report, the group of 12 students and their teacher Mr. Barwin will be using sleeping bags and cardboard to build their makeshift beds outside their school.
They will be documenting the entire process as a part of their social media curriculum with all the links provided online on their Homeless in Victoria website.
Building connections
Central Middle School is located just across the street from a transitional shelter run by Our Place Society, where students have had the opportunity to meet and speak to several homeless Victorians.
These kids have since been gaining a deeper understanding of what it is like to have lost your home and have to live on the streets. Their inspiration for this project comes from wanting to further experience and empathize with the struggle faced by the homeless.
“On our website/social media pages we will have content such as photos/stories of homeless people, information for the homeless, information on the homeless in Victoria and much more,” reads their website’s first page.
“We hope that whoever you are, this site helps you or educates you about homelessness in Victoria.”
When all is said and done, it sounds like adults have a lot to learn from these middle schoolers who have taken a politically charged subject and dug down deep enough to discover what it’s all about: humanity.
