Anthony Valente and Zach Zoccolli, 16-year-old juniors from Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, N.J., repair cardboard sleeping areas after the wind knocked them down. Students slept and ate outside to learn what it’s like to be homeless.

MCT / Kevin R. Wexler

HACKENSACK, N.J.

Fifty-five temporarily homeless teenagers huddled against the cold in cardboard huts on the grounds of Paramus Catholic High School on Sunday night. The teens were homeless by choice to show support for those who have no choice but to be homeless.

The outdoor sleepover was intended to increase the students’ empathy for the less fortunate. But participants said the economy is already doing that, by making them realize how quickly someone’s fortunes can change from good to bad.

“There’s a lot of people who didn’t think they’d ever be homeless, but if you lose your job on Wall Street it could be you out there, too,” said Matt Sartori, 18, of Lodi, N.J., a Paramus High School graduate. You don’t have to look hard to see growing numbers of homeless, said Sartori, a freshman at Seton Hall University. “I can walk two blocks off campus and see homeless people at the Dunkin’ Donuts.”

Sartori was one of a handful of Paramus Catholic graduates who showed up to encourage the students. They’ve had their consciousness raised by helping hand out food and toiletries in twice-monthly visits to areas in New York City where homeless people congregate. The trips are coordinated by Paramus Catholic’s Dean of Campus Ministry Joseph Wilson, along with Bridges Outreach, a homeless support non-profit based in Summit, N.J.

Lois Bhatt, the executive director of Bridges Outreach, visited the Paramus Catholic box city Sunday and said the need for services for the homeless is growing every day.

“We’ve seen the demand for help increase over the last couple of months,” as the economy has cratered, she said. “People who have part-time jobs are losing hours and people who are day laborers are seeing those jobs drying up.”

The Paramus Catholic teens arrived at the school midday Sunday, with refrigerator and appliance boxes they or their parents had scrounged from Route 17 stores. They then staked out spots in a section of the school grounds sheltered from Sunday’s gusty winds by a stand of trees.

Some of the cardboard huts had whimsical touches. One had a castle-like turret fashioned out of flattened boxes. Another had a small American flag mounted on the cardboard roof.

Temperatures were in the 40s during the day, but were expected to dip into the low 20s overnight. Last year, the first night the school staged the outdoor sleepover, the temperature fell to 5 degrees, Wilson said.

“Depending on how you look at it, we either got the worst possible day or the best possible day,” Wilson said Sunday afternoon as the students shivered around him. It was the best possible day, Wilson said, to achieve his goal of making students understand what it’s like to not have a roof over your head.

The event tries to simulate homelessness as closely as possible. The students turn in their cell phones, watches and iPods at the start. They are fed “soup-kitchen style” — made to line up for their bag lunch and for their dinner. The teens couldn’t bring blankets or sleeping bags with them, and had to depend on whatever blankets were donated to the school’s clothing pantry, which collects clothes and bedding for the poor.

Monday, they reported to class dressed in the sweat pants and sweat shirts and jackets they slept in overnight. “We’re going to be rocking the grunge look,” said Erin Waller, 16, of Maywood, N.J. Sunday. “I hope I don’t smell too bad tomorrow.”

But the students did have some comforts of home. The dinner was provided and served by a volunteer team of moms and dads. And the students got a two-hour break from the cold at night while they watched a movie about the importance of serving others.

Paramus Catholic senior Ryan Ritchie of Mahwah, N.J., participated in the homeless experiment last year and returned Sunday because he now sees the homeless he serves meals to with new eyes. “After I did it last year, it really helped me relate to them better,” he said.

Stephanie Sims of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., one of the parents providing the evening meal, said she was glad her daughter, Ashley, was participating, although she was a little worried about the cold night ahead. “This helps them realize how blessed they really are,” Sims said.