This year, our Year 11 Health and Social Care students have been studying the issue of homelessness among young adults as part of their course. To enrich their learning, we have been fortunate to work closely with Streetlife, a local charity that supports vulnerable and homeless young people within our community.
Earlier in the year, representatives from Streetlife visited our school to share their experiences and insights. These sessions gave students a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by young people experiencing homelessness and the vital support Streetlife provides.
As a way of saying thank you and giving something back, our school launched a Christmas donation appeal to help make life a little brighter for the young adults supported by Streetlife during the festive season. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our school community, we successfully completed the collection and today our Year 11 students personally delivered the donated items to the Streetlife Day Shelter.
During the visit, students were warmly welcomed and had the opportunity to support Streetlife’s Christmas market. They enjoyed browsing the stalls, eating cakes, drinking hot chocolate and toasting marshmallows, while seeing first-hand the welcoming and supportive environment created by the charity.
Student reflections on the visit:
The homeless shelter was a fun, exciting time and the volunteers were extremely nice. There were many different things like hot chocolate, toasted marshmallows, decorations and many more. In my experience, it was fun as I was speaking to the Mayor of Blackpool and I bought some things. This experience was fun, and I learnt a lot from it. (Phoebe)
Today we went to the homeless shelter. I felt like this was rewarding because we gave donations to them. It was amazing seeing the people in this shelter contributing with raffles, cake, and hot chocolate. Seeing a homeless shelter in real life made me realise how lucky I really am and how amazing the people are who help the people who are struggling. (Lucy)
Today we as a group, went to a homeless shelter, there was twenty of us and as we arrived we helped to unpack all the donations our school has given. After we came in there was a lot of activities that we could have done, e.g. Raffle, hot chocolate, and Christmas bauble decorating. Overall, it was quite fun as we got to see the shelter and the conditions and activities that street life charity provides. (Leion)
In the homeless shelter we looked around stalls which were selling Christmas items to raise money for the shelter, this showed the importance the shelter is to people in the area and what it does for them. It felt rewarding to be able to give back to those struggling and realise how lucky we are. (Gracie)
Speaking with the mayor he found it calming and enjoyed seeing how it offered hot chocolate for low prices. The people who worked on the stalls were giving a little back and it shows how many want to help. (Amelia)
Going to the homeless shelter was a really good experience. Seeing the shelter in real life really helped create better understanding of what it is really like. It also showed what an impact places like Streetlife can do for many people and why they are so important. The workers were really nice and made the environment really welcoming. (Immy)
Today at Streetlife, we took our shoeboxes full of donations for people who access the homeless shelter. The people running the shelter were very welcoming, friendly, and even had a Christmas craft market set up for us. We won prizes from the raffle and were offered refreshments, such as hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows. Kim, the manager of the shelter, praised our efforts as a school as we had given them the largest donation they have ever received. Overall, the experience was very eye- opening but enjoyable. (Daisy & Ashley)
At the homeless shelter we got showed the day base of where people go. It was a really good experience, and we got an insight on what happens when the workers facilitate the individuals that attend the shelter. We got offered to do things like getting hot chocolates and buy multiple things like homemade Christmas trees they had made to sell to us and the raffle. This experience gives us an interpretation of how the workers treat individuals with kindness and respect. On the walls there were also pictures of what the individuals attending homeless shelters get up to, like playing pool and arts & crafts. We also contributed to giving the homeless shelter some donations, like daily essentials and little presents that individuals could receive as Christmas presents. The workers there, like Kim, were very grateful as they hadn’t received a big donation so it felt good knowing that we could give back to people who needed it more than us. (Chloe)
We had a great experience looking round Streetlife, I got to know more about the shelter, what goes on there and how the staff work trying to help the homeless as much as possible. It was also a very rewarding experience as many presents were dropped off, and the donations made towards the Christmas market they held. It was also nice to see how impacting shelters can be towards someone who’s homeless. Aswell as this all volunteers and staff were very helpful and nice. (Cara)
Street Life helps homeless young people by giving them a safe place to go with food and drinks provided , activities and support to build a better future. It also gives them a place to socialise and better themselves. They offer lots of different things and can help a homeless person in anyway. (Jasmine)
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the appeal. Your donations included winter essentials, personal hygiene products, non-perishable food items, Christmas treats and small gifts, all of which will make a meaningful difference to young people in need this Christmas.
A special thank you goes to Streetlife and in particular their Communications Manager, Kim Hughes, who helped to facilitate our visit and made us feel so welcome.
We are incredibly proud of our students for their compassion, engagement and willingness to support others.
Thank you once again for your continued support.
