Stonybrook Middle School’s 8th grade English Language Arts classes started a project in September, learning about homelessness.


Teacher Mercedes Crutchley says the project started when students read Susan Nielsen’s book “No Fixed Address.” The book is about a 13-year-old boy named Felix and he lives out of a van in downtown Vancouver.


Felix and his mother are going through difficult times and he describes his experiences with various challenges and having to keep it a secret from friends and family.


“He also describes the challenges he faces, such as having to keep those secrets, not having access to sanitation, having to steal food because he was so hungry, having to help his mother when she was going through what Nielsen did. He mentioned breakdowns or depressive episodes and he was struggling, I think mainly because of the lack of dignity he felt,” she says.


One of the assignments was about the shame and guilt that Felix felt.


“Every time there was a situation where Felix had to do something that he felt ashamed or guilty about, the children documented it and used it as part of their own reflection.”


Crutchley says many students said they didn’t fully understand homelessness, and always thought it was someone who just didn’t have a home.


“But at the end of this, many of them expressed that they had a new perspective on it. How they understood it was the physical, mental and emotional challenges. It would be difficult to have to be in that situation and deal with all the things that Felix did, and I think it also broadened their own horizons a little bit, because then they understood what a big problem was within their own community, in a way they were previously unaware of.”


For their final project, the class held a school-wide candy gram sale to raise money The innSteinbach’s latest homelessness initiative.


“Each of these grams of candy was a dollar,” says Crutchley. “And we raised over $500 for The INN. The total was much more than I expected. We had to make many more candy bags. It was definitely a joint effort between our classes.”


She says she is so proud of her classes because they have exceeded expectations and raised money for a great cause.


Three students share what they learned and interpreted from the book.


Grazielle says she has learned that homelessness is more complex than just not having a home.


“There are a lot of physical and mental challenges behind that, and it doesn’t just have physical consequences, but… That mental challenge in your brain really affects you in terms of social interactions, basic things like that.


Aliya agrees, adding, “I’ve learned that it’s really hard to find a balance between not having a home and trying to live a normal teenage life. The mental and physical challenges that that brings, and just worrying about what you’re going to eat, how you’re going to get to the right place on time. It really just affects trying to live a life and at the same time keep this big secret that you have.


Ainia says she has learned that everyone goes through their own struggles.


“We don’t really know what they’re going through. We should actually ask them if they need help with anything. And we need to understand their real story and what’s going on in their lives.


According to INN board chair Leonna Doerksen, this project shows that the students have a lot of empathy.


“You care about people, not just yourself. That you were willing to take the time to do this and contribute to our community. You will help educate our community and help our community understand what it means to be homeless. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of all board members for taking the time to do this.”


Doerksen added that the board looks forward to the contributions the students will make to the community as adults if given the opportunity.


With files from Corny Rempel





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