Sir, – Rosita Boland ("Is a school sleepout the best way to raise awareness of homelessness?", Opinion, December 23rd) makes some excellent points about the effectiveness of, as opposed to the sentiment behind, the annual "sleepout" by students in Dublin every Christmas. Perhaps it would be better if each student invited a homeless person to stay in their parents' home for Christmas week, providing integration with a real family and taking pressure off health and social services at a critical time. – Yours, etc,
JUDITH GOLDBERGER,
Donnybrook, Dublin 4.
Sir, – The Belvedere College sleepout raises an extraordinary amount of money for a wonderful cause, and I have great admiration for the lads who choose to give up their time over the Christmas holidays to sleep out in the cold and the rain. It’s fully acknowledged, I think, that obviously the two days are in no way a comparison to the struggles of those sleeping rough in Dublin all through winter, and indeed, all year round. However, there is a huge problem with the dehumanisation of homeless people and what the lads do every year makes people think. I know that I personally was struck by my sympathy towards the students who had another night to go before heading home, and my instant realisation that there are people sleeping rough who don’t have that refuge to go to. I always considered myself aware of the plight of rough sleepers particularly in Dublin, but I (and all of us) can definitely use a change in perspective once in a while.
These guys choose to provide that change in perspective and help change the problematic view Irish society has of the homeless while raising money to improve facilities that will be extremely useful and are desperately needed.
For that, I think they deserve recognition, not criticism. – Yours, etc,
ELLA McLOUGHLIN,
Dublin 6.