GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — A group of Grand Haven high schoolers spent their Friday night sleeping outside in cardboard boxes in an effort to open their eyes to the struggles of homelessness.
The event has been offered to students for more than 20 years in Grand Haven at various sites around the city. Friday, they made shelters out of cardboard boxes and blankets in front of First Reformed Church. No snacks or cell phones are allowed.
The Interact Club at the high school hosts the event. Co-presidents and seniors Sophia Galbavi and Abilene Ritter participated for the second year in a row.
"You just gain, like, so much empathy for others," Galbavi told 13 ON YOUR SIDE.
During the overnight, students will be dealt challenges like their shelter being taken or rained on, or having a medical issue, but no help.
Galbavi and Ritter agree the experience made them step back and look at their own lives.
"Very privileged here," said Ritter, "just seeing how people treat even just us, and we aren't even actually homeless, it's like really eye-opening cuz some people would walk by and they'd start yelling, screaming, like honking at us."
Grand Haven High School math teacher John Mauro has supervised this experience since it started. He hopes it transcends just one night and prompts students to ask questions.
"What does homelessness look like in our community? What can I do to help?" he asked.
It's a process already in the works, as Galbavi told 13 ON YOUR SIDE, "If there's any way that you can, like, get involved in your community or put yourself in new and like uncomfortable situations, it really is, like truly eye-opening and such a great experience."
Come Saturday morning, students will reflect on the experience as a group.