Sleeping rough for the UQ School of Architecture Winter Sleepout

Amanda Robinson, Chi Tang, Katrina Robinson, Kevin Murphy and Leah Brown took part in the UQ Architecture Winter Sleepout on 14 August 2018. BVN is supporting the Second Chance Program that aims to raise awareness of women at risk of homelessness. Architectural Graduate Leah Brown wrote a recap of the night.

The night for me was very eye-opening... There were a number of talks: Eloise of Deicke Richards on statistics surrounding those who are homeless or most at risk of becoming homeless; a representative from Second Chance who discussed their involvement with helping support women and children who suddenly find themselves vulnerable and thrown into the world for various reasons; and Churches of Christ/Youth Connect discussed their involvement with finding housing solutions for those in need as well as providing additional support to help them build essential life skills, with workshops focused on relationships and community, resilience, career transitions and school engagement.

The sleepout itself was quite restless, with sensory vulnerability (cold and loud noises) the biggest culprits for a lack of sleep. Bin collection started in the street at 3 am and most of us stayed stayed awake from then. While the setup of the night was drastically more ‘privileged’ than an authentic experience of sleeping rough on the streets, I have taken away an appreciation for how exposed sleeping in an urban streetscape is and how difficult even just that one element of living rough could be.

Currently, the combined fundraising effort of Brisbane’s architectural practices, students and academics is $22k, the highest amount for any year to date.

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If you'd like to help us reach the sleepouts' fundraising target please visit: www.give.everydayhero.com/au/bvn-1]