PENOLA High School students and teachers have held their own Walk A Mile In My Boots event to raise awareness for the homeless.
With over 105,000 homeless people in Australia and 17,845 children under 12 who do not have a permanent home, the event saw students Emily Winter, Katie Colbert and Ashe Montecillo organise the event as part of their Year 12 health studies.
The students were required to show their findings on homelessness to others, which culminated in a fun walk last Thursday from the high school to the racecourse.
The community event for youth involved Penola Primary School Year 7 students, as well as Penola High School students.
The PHS Student Representative Council assisted project co-organiser and SRC co-president Winter with running the day.
The Walk A Mile In My Boots foundation is based at the Hutt Street Centre in Adelaide and aims to give participants an insight into the hardships of homeless
people.
Winter, Colbert and Montecillo made badges for each participant and roadside signs of homelessness facts to entertain and educate walkers.
Participants also each made a footprint and signed a “we walked a mile for homelessness” wall hanging.
The three student organisers gave a verbal presentation about homelessness and its impacts on individuals and society.
The event was deemed a success, with the primary school and high school working together for the greater good of the community and Winter said it was pleasing to see everyone get involved in the project.
“I was thrilled with the involvement of the students,” she said.
“They really took an interest in what we had to say and it was great to see them using our visual aids with interest.”
