Many will sleep outdoors to help homeless
As Halloween approaches, we take delight in being frightened for moment by a ghoulish mask or a dangling spider. But there are some people dealing with a fear that is very real and far from spill-tingling fun. This is the fear of being homeless.
I recall being a child on vacation with my parents and brother when I briefly faced this fear. My father didn't want to be tied down by making reservations on our trip to the East Coast. He wanted to just drive into a town and find a hotel. This worked well the first night but the second night of our journey fell on a weekend.
We pulled off the expressway into town after town without finding a hotel with room for our family. We looked for hours with the tension mounting as we all wondered if we would have a place to sleep for the night. It was past midnight before we found someplace to stay. I can still recall the panic and insecurity of having no place to stay even though it was just for a few hours.
I can't imagine the emotional strain for a family with no prospects of shelter at all. Yet, every night, hundreds of people in our area have to face homelessness. The average age of the homeless person facing this fear in DuPage County is eight years old. Instead of deciding whether to be a princess or a fairy on Halloween, these children are just hoping they have a place to spend the night.
Bridge Communities is an organization dedicated to providing transitional housing for homeless families. For the sixth year, they will be inviting DuPage County residents to participate in Sleep Out Saturday on Nov. 7 to raise awareness of the issues of homelessness. Two local groups are supporting the effort here in the Fox Valley Villages.
The youngest group will be Cub Scout Pack 543 which will be setting up a makeshift city outside the Oaks Clubhouse in the Oakhurst Subdivision for Scouts and their families to sleep in tents, boxes or cars for a night on Nov. 7. They are inviting area residents to stop by and talk to the Scouts about the homeless. Unlike other Cub Scout campouts, there will not be meals and snacks provided. The Scouts and families plan to arrive about 6:30 p.m.
"These are boys in grades first through fifth," says Manuel Cordero, who is one of the den leaders for the Cub Scout pack. "We have about 70 kids in the pack. We hope people will stop by to make a donation to Bridge Communities and see what being homeless could be like."
Another local group hosting a Sleep Out Saturday event is Bethany of Fox Valley United Methodist Church. The youth group and some church families will be attending a rally at Bridge Communities in Glen Ellyn from 6 until 8 p.m. After the rally, they will head to the church where a soup kitchen similar to the ones found at homeless shelters will be waiting for them. The youth and families can choose to sleep outdoors or inside in a make-shift homeless shelter set-up.
Bethany youth director Nancy Vickers, says "We will be talking about homelessness with the kids throughout the evening. Safety has been a concern and we have talked with aldermen Keith and Mervine who have been very helpful in helping set this up so our youth will be safe." Youth are collecting pledges for the event with a goal of raising $500 for the Bridge Communities.
Both Vickers and Cordero are being cautious about their safety of their "homeless." People who are truly homeless certainly do not have this attention but they do have some help thanks to Bridge Communities. This non-profit organization matches up needy families with a faith-based organization willing to give monetary and mentoring services to the family. Most of the families are able to become self-sufficient within two years of entering the program. Currently Bridge Communities is able to help 100 families a year. Instead of just offering a temporary solution, Bridge Communities tries to offer a bridge to a new life.
Staff members at Bridge Communities share heart-breaking stories of people living in cars, Laundromats and tents. Their theme this year is "Give Us Hope."
Anyone wishing to make a donation to Bridge Communities -- which offers education, employment, housing, mentoring and autos to families struggling to overcome homelessness -- can stop by the Pack 643 event, contact Bethany of Fox Valley United Methodist Church or visit www.bridgecommunities.org . The number of people receiving homeless prevention services in DuPage Country more than doubled between 2001 and 2005 and the numbers are still rising. Consider giving a gift of hope through a donation to this effort.
buchenot@comcast.net
