Social work students and a senior lecturer from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) have raised more than £600 for a homeless charity after they braved a night in the snow to experience the harsh realities of living on the streets.
UCLan senior social work lecturer Amanda Taylor was joined by ten of her students to take part in the Street Sleep Out, run by the Brick Homeless Project in Wigan, to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless and generate cash for the project’s work.
The team joined around 70 other people on January 25 when snow blizzards hit the region to spend eight hours outside huddled under cardboard boxes.
Amanda said: “I am incredibly proud of the social work students who took part in this very challenging but worthwhile event.
“Not only did it help them to experience what it might be like for people who find themselves homeless but it also provided a learning experience from a totally different perspective than that of the tradition lecture space. It also acted as a great bonding activity for all of the students involved.”
First year social work student Melissa Emmerson said: “I wanted to understand what it was like to walk in another person’s shoes.
“I found comfort knowing we were all in it together, taking time out from our busy lives to try and make difference.”
Fellow first year student Lorna Ferguson said: “At times and felt like giving up but knowing that some people have no choice but to brave such conditions day in day out spurred me on.”
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