.
MERCY Mounthawk students spent a night sleeping outside the school gym on Thursday to highlight the national issue of homelessness and to raise funds for Focus Ireland.
Continued below…
Transition Year students with teacher Veronica Hunt (right) at the start of the sleep out to raise awareness of the national issue of homelessness. Photo by Dermot Crean
The weather was terrible with wind and rain battering the building but the students, part of the transition year Young Social Innovators Group, toughed it out.
In front; Evan O’Connor, Brendan Walsh and Thomas O’Sullivan,. Back; Fianna Fail election candidate Cllr John Brassil, Diarmaid O’Connor and Odhran Liston at the start of the sleep out to raise awareness of the national issue of homelessness. Photo by Dermot Crean
President of Tralee Chamber Alliance, John Drummey, and local politician Fianna Fáil election candidate John Brassil – who was there when TraleeToday.ie turned up at the beginning of the night to take a few photos – lent their support to the event.
The students were in good spirits with some parents and teachers there to make sure they had everything they needed for the night ahead.
Thomas Healy, Conor Higgins and Tom Guerin at the start of the sleep out to raise awareness of the national issue of homelessness. Photo by Dermot Crean
Later on Friday, the tired students were over in Manor West collecting funds for the homeless charity, Focus Ireland.
Student Katie Ryan described how the event went.
“The experience overall was tough, one of the most challenging experiences psychologically and physically for every member of the group. The weather – though for Ireland it may have been mild – it was still freezing and windy. It gave us all an insight into the lives of people who have no homes. Everyone was shook by the experience as to how hard it actually was but that’s what we were hoping to get out of it. It’s given us the boost we needed to keep working toward making a change.
Over in Manor, people asked us questions about how the sleep out went, why we did it, what focus Ireland was about and what their aim was as a charity. People were very supportive.
We achieved what we hoped to due to the support from the media, teachers, parents, school staff and our fellow students in and out of our YSI group.”
The group made a video of the night which can be viewed below…
