Year 9 Jewish Life Homelessness Excursion
Lily Berger
Lara Palic
Matthew Lowy
Remy Waller
Masah Bamidbar (A Journey in the Desert)
On Tuesday 26 March 2019, Year 9 embarked on the Masah Bamidbar excursion, aimed linking homelessness to the messages of Pesach. On the day we learnt from the people who have experienced homelessness themselves about this dire situation and how so many people find themselves stuck in certain unavoidable circumstances (and feel as though they are in מֵצַרִים Meytzarim = Dire Straits, same Hebrew letters as מִצְרַיִם Mitzrayim = Egypt).
We began the day by making our own way to the site via public transport, catching trains or buses and then walking to St John’s Anglican Church. By using public transport, it made us think how not everything in life can be provided for us but taught us that often people who are homeless have to move around often from place to place.
Our year congregated at St John’s Anglican Church in Darlinghurst. The church runs numerous programs, through its non-profit organisation Rough Edges, which help support those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. We were split into groups and went on a unique tour around Kings Cross with two amazing guides, Andrew and Tony.
Andrew had grown up in Country NSW where he, as a gay teenager, had not been accepted by either his family or community. To escape this, he moved to Sydney at a young age where, due to numerous factors, he became homeless, contracted HIV and struggled with addiction, amongst other issues. He told us about what life on the streets was like for him and how hard it had been. His family relationships have since been mended and he now lives in sheltered accommodation.
Tony grew up constantly moving from house to house. His father was an alcoholic and abusive to his family. Due to these circumstances, Tony struggled with mental health issues from a very young age. At age fifteen he ran away, became homeless and started using drugs. Along with this, Tony discussed other struggles he had been through and overcome in his life. Even though Tony had been dealt some of the worst cards life could give him, he played them better than some of us play our good hands. Since his early 30s, he has been working for charities such as St. John’s Anglican Church to help teenagers and adults get out of homelessness and the cycle of drugs and alcohol abuse. Currently, Tony is studying for a diploma in mental health so he can help those who are in the position that he was once in.
Both Andrew and Tony’s stories were confronting and impactful, but through their sense of humour and care, it made their tours the highlight of the excursion.
Each group was guided around Kings Cross, learning about different places and how they were connected to homelessness. These included the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Holocaust memorial near the Sydney Jewish Museum, the medically supervised injecting centre and a cafe which provides free food and company for those who are homeless.
During the excursion we also took part in a program run by the organisation Kids Giving Back, who aim to teach our generation about the wider community and develop skills which will empower us to help change other people’s lives for the good. We learnt some of the shocking statistics about homelessness in Australia and that literally anyone can become unexpectedly homeless due to factors out of their control. The Homelessness Game involved us looking at scenarios that commonly lead to people becoming homeless and then randomly earned or lost sticks, which represented money, by reading out different life scenarios. This game showed us that people who are homeless typically don’t have much control over their life circumstances and that people around them (family, friends, employers etc.) can affect their situation. We came to realise that people who are homeless are just like us; they have families and hobbies and experiences and that we, as privileged members of the community, must treat people who are homeless as people.
This means that next time you walk past someone living on the streets, instead of avoiding eye contact and pretending that they aren’t there you should try saying hello, good morning or asking how they are. The simplest smile can make the biggest difference. Andrew told us that when he was living on the street, often he would go twenty-four hours without interacting with anyone, despite hundreds of people walking past him every day. When someone was able to look at him and say hello or have a simple conversation, he felt human again, and that interaction with someone else would make his entire day. One of the biggest things that stuck with us after this experience, was that instead of referring to people without a home as ‘homeless people’, we should instead use the term ‘people who are homeless’ as these individuals are most importantly human, before anything else.
For those of us who might be ungrateful or take what we have for granted, it is important to know that there are thousands of Australians, just like us, who live on the streets and struggle to get basic items such as food, clothing and shelter, let alone a new car or the latest iPhone. We must be thankful for what we have and strive to help others in need. For us this excursion was incredibly eye-opening. It was an amazing experience for our cohort and one which we will definitely remember in the years to come.
Overall this day was an amazing experience showing us how fortunate we are to live in the Eastern Suburbs, attend Emanuel School and be members of the Sydney Jewish community. It also made us aware of the importance of giving our time to those less fortunate that ourselves.
We want to thank our teachers Ms Levin-Kahn, Ms Inberg, Rabbi Segal, Mr Bloom and the organisation, Kids Giving Back, for planning this day and letting us have this amazing experience that have changed our thoughts on homelessness. And thanks, of course, to our wonderful guides, Andrew and Tony.
By Lily Berger, Lara Palic, Matthew Lowy and Remy Waller
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