Brendan Glavin’s At-Home 360°Experience (Student Edition)
My name is Brendan Glavin and I am in grade 9 at Huron Heights Secondary School. I heard about 360°kids through my school and decided that I should take the challenge and raise awareness for homeless kids as I didn’t know a lot about it and thought I could learn a lot. If not for myself, for other kids that aren’t as fortunate.
At first I thought it was going to be easy. I had my backpack filled and I headed outside. After the first hour, I was glad to start walking around. My friend and I walked about 2 miles and it was really cold and I was thirsty for a warm drink. After my friend left to finish his time at home, I ended up crawling under my deck to watch a few 360°videos. The only good experience during the night I had was knowing I was almost done and could go back inside. I also realized that when you are by yourself, time goes really slow.
I didn’t know a lot about homeless kids. I didn’t think there were that many and I had no idea about the services the community had to help to help them get food, education, have showers, counselling and housing. However knowing that there is only so much room, it is scary to think about the waitlist and that someone can get services but still have nowhere to sleep. Throughout the night I watched the videos and then again the next day. It was sad to hear their stories. What can seem like a simple fight with family can actually result in being homeless.
This experience has taught me that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. Many people never thought that they would end up on the streets. Bringing awareness to 360°kids is important for everyone. I hope I never need these services, but I am happy to have participated as I learned enough to maybe help someone in need one day.
**To learn more about our 360°kids programs and services go to www.360kids.ca/