By Abby Luciano, North Shore News
More than two dozen students from Carson Graham Secondary gave up their beds and embraced the cold last Thursday to raise funds for youth experiencing homelessness.
The 25 students, along with four adults, slept outside overnight at the North Vancouver high school, collecting nearly $10,000 to go towards Covenant House Vancouver, a non-profit that helps end youth homelessness.
The students launched a campaign on the Covenant House website, where parents, friends and other supporters could make donations for the cause.
Rob Olson, a teacher at Carson Graham and one of the organizers of the sleepout, said the fundraiser helped the students put themselves in other people’s shoes.
“The biggest thing is we’re in a society that is tending to look the other way and we have massive issues that are right in front of us,” Olson said. “We want them to understand that they can help and become part of the solution and not the problem. We want them to be empathetic and to grow into their adulthood and understand how it feels to give.”
Before the sleepout, students met with guest speakers from the community, including Mark Savard, philanthropy officer of Covenant House Vancouver; Alex Choi, medical health officer for the North Shore; District of North Vancouver Coun. Herman Mah; and Mike Fox, the district’s new chief administrative officer.
“Even on the North Shore, which many people perceive as an affluent area, homelessness is an issue,” Mah said. “Hopefully that experience will foster their sense of compassion as they evolve into leaders in the future. It was a great bunch of students who came out that night.”
The students played games and watched the film Human Experience before heading outside around 11 p.m. to get ready for bed. Sleeping under lights beside the school, they used cardboard underneath their sleeping bags and donned coats, toques and mittens to keep themselves warm.
Grade 11 student Emma Irvine said the experience made her grateful for what she has in her life.
“It just made me realize how lucky I am to go home and I’m able to not have to worry about where I’m going to sleep or if I’m going to have food for the next day, if I’m going to be warm enough,” Irvine said.
“It helps [teenagers] become more open-minded and maybe sympathetic or empathetic for other youth that are in such a different situation than us,” she added. “Trying to experience what other people have to go through opens your mind a lot and helps you just become a more well-rounded person, and I think that’s very valuable for teenagers to understand.”
Grade 11 student Julia Kerr said sleeping under bright lights, in the cold, with the sounds of cars driving by made her understand on a deeper level the situations some young people experience every single night.
“Some people my age are having to do that and they don’t actually have a sense of security and safety around them,” Kerr said. “Which I find a bit terrifying, and I can’t imagine dealing with that every single night.”
After the sleepout, Kerr said she was inspired to help out with housing projects in the future.
“I would love to be able to give more into the community for teens and people so they can have a safer place to sleep, have shelter. I think that’s very important,” she said.
Last Thursday’s fundraiser was the first one since 2020. The sleepout is part of Carson Graham’s community initiatives and leadership class, where Olson teaches students about leadership and how they can use those skills to help the community.
He said the class has made long-term impacts.
“We have a lot of kids who’ve gone on to philanthropy or to social work, nursing, teaching or even entrepreneurship where they value that idea. It’s not just about making money, but it’s about your community. It’s about the people who are with you, making sure that they’re OK and helping them along the way,” Olson said.
Carson Graham is still taking donations for the sleepout fundraiser on the Covenant House Vancouver website.
