SCONE High School students Phoebe Weatherley and Kayley Kennedy have rolled up their sleeves this month in the lead up to World Homelessness Day.
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The duo raised $465 which will go towards vital services at Upper Hunter Homeless Support.
Phoebe and Kayley, both sixteen, are members of the Upper Hunter Youth Council – a group made up of students from Primary and High Schools from across the Upper Hunter.
The fundraising efforts were part of Tuesday’s couch surfing event to raise awareness of the work done by the service in assisting the homeless.
Phoebe Weatherly said the issue is increasingly something affecting our youth and it is the Youth Council’s role to get involved in giving young people a voice.
“We decided that we would participate in the event as representatives our school and the Youth Council to raise awareness,” she said.
“So in the lead up we asked for donations, and all $465 was donated entirely from our school community.
“How homelessness presents itself in rural areas is very different – kids go to school who are technically homeless and couch surfing or sleeping in cars.
“It is a lot more than people think so we hoped this event would raise some awareness.”
The students received praise from their school, Council representatives and business leaders participating in the event for their outstanding effort.
If you are homeless or at risk you can call Link2home on 1800 152 152 or Upper Hunter Homeless Support on 65425051 during business hours.