Using appliance boxes as shelter and praying for change, 17 student members of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church braved the weather elements to build awareness about homelessness.

From noon on Wednesday to noon on Thursday, the students camped in the grassy area south of the Campanile for the third-annual sleepout.

Michelle Olsen, peer minister at St. Thomas Aquinas, said the reason for sleeping outside was to make people consider the harsh reality of being homeless.

“Our hope was that as people walked by, they would really think about how other people live their lives,” said Olsen, junior in animal ecology.

John Donaghy, campus minister at St. Thomas Aquinas, said the sleepout benefited both participants and passersby.

“It raised awareness both for them and for others that there is a continuing problem, not just for homelessness but that there isn’t sufficient affordable housing for people in Iowa,” he said.

Donaghy said the sleepout served as a wake-up call for student participants, adding that many realized they had nothing to complain about.

“The homeless are our brothers and our sisters,” he said. “Therefore, we respond to them. They’re human beings like us.”

Olsen said the St. Thomas Aquinas group approached other religious-oriented student groups to participate in the event but received no replies.

“Originally, we reached out to other student religious organizations and invited them to participate with us,” she said. “We had no response.”

If more religious student groups reached out to the homeless, Olsen said that would reflect positively on the Iowa State student body.

Olsen said she was “happy with the reaction” the group received.

“Homelessness isn’t just a concern of one group of people; it’s a concern of all groups of people,” she said.

Donaghy said the Catholic student group also helps the homeless by cooking at the Emergency Residence Project shelter twice a month.