ALL SET FOR A TOUGH LESSON

MORE than 40 Bellerive P Primary i Sh School kids will rough it in sleeping bags in the school hall this Friday night to raise awareness around homelessness.

Among them will be nine-year-old Evelyn McPherson, who said the night would give her a better understanding of how people without homes live. “It’s going to be a little bit difficult because you’re not on a mattress,” she said.

MORE than 40 kids from Bellerive Primary School will be roughing it in sleeping bags this Friday night as the school hosts a Homeless Experience.

Under the supervision of school chaplain Phil Latham, students from grade three up to grade six will be spending the night in their sleeping bags in the school hall to raise awareness of homelessness.

Nine-year-old Evelyn McPherson said the night would give her a deeper understanding of how people without homes would feel.

“It’s going to be a little bit difficult because you’re not on a mattress,” she said.

Mr Latham said the night was about teaching young people about humanitarianism.

“If we can pass this on generationally then we’re teaching and putting out that care for other people out there,” he said.

“We do have a caring generation of kids out there but there’s an element of meeting our own needs and having our own wants met and when you’re homeless you don’t have any of that.”

The students will be eating soup and bread outside, will scope out an area in the schoolyard they would sleep if they had to, and will receive an address about homelessness by the Salvation Army.

They will be sleeping indoors with a sleeping bag and pillow and will not be allowed to have any electronic devices or treats. A total of $10 per child will be donated to the Salvation Army, with Mr Latham saying he expected to raise more than $400.