Student Worksheet

Thought-starter: "We have come dangerously close to accepting the homeless situation as a problem that we just can't solve" - Linda Lingle

Watch the following clip and complete the associated tasks below:

Couch for Rent: (https://youtu.be/0gseUWSOnc0)

1. Note down your summary of the terms below:

Primary homelessness:

Secondary homelessness:

Tertiary homelessness:

Couch surfing:

2. As a class, brainstorm the issues that may be associated with couch surfing and summarise the class's thinking in dot points here:

3. Why do you think recording the number of homeless youth could be difficult?

4. Explain what you think is meant by the term 'invisible homeless':

5. For each of the statistics below, pose a question that you think they answer:

e.g. for the statistic above, you may ask: "What percentage of people in supported accommodation are female?"

Now download the Homelessness in Australia infographic from the Homelessness Australia website and compare the questions you came up with to the ones on the factsheet.

6. How has your thinking about the issue of homelessness (more specifically, youth homelessness and couch surfing) changed? Note your thoughts down using the prompts below:

I used to think ...
But now I think ... .

7. Create a graphic campaign that could be displayed at a bus stop shelter, on a billboard or in a magazine that raises the issue of couch surfing and encourages young people experiencing homelessness to seek support.

Before you start creating your campaign, complete a plan by thinking about the following questions:

What do you want the general public to know about youth homelessness?
Where can people access support if they are homeless in your community?
What can people in your community do to help support homeless youth or organisations that assist homeless youth in your area?
What images/graphics will you use to capture people's attention?
What text or slogans will you include?

You could use Phoster or Comic Strip It! to publish your poster.

Reflection

Assess a classmate's advertisement. In order to do so, rate it on a scale of 1-10 in terms of how likely you think it is that the advertisement would make a difference to the support available for homeless youth.

Describe the poster, the information that it contains and the change that it is trying to make. You should also justify why you chose the rating that you did.

The Oasis - The Realities of Youth Homelessness

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