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Teens seek end to homelessness
Published Friday, October 10, 2008
Photo by Zak Holtan
Erica Wahlund writes biblical text on the wall of a cardboard box to be used by students during this weekend’s homeless night out, which is set to raise money and awareness regarding the issue of homeless in the Fergus Falls area.
When students spend Saturday night under the shelter of cardboard boxes, they won’t be doing it for a good time. But they’ll be doing it for a good cause.
They’ll be focussing on the issue of homelessness in the area and how they can help.
“We want them to wrap their heads around the fact that they are homeless,” said Rev. Matthew Martin of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.
According to the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, some 9,000 people in the state experience homelessness on any given night. It’s for that reason that Martin says he and the roughly 300 other participants are inspired to do what they can to help.
Those taking part in this year’s event will be doing it in the name of awareness, while also collecting cash and food donations for Someplace Safe, the Salvation Army and the local food shelf.
The group of students and chaperones from churches around the area will gather at First Lutheran at 7 p.m., where they will wait in lines for pre-packaged Kids Against Hunger meals and listen to guest speaker Chris Lahr.
Lahr, who has experienced homelessness first-hand, runs the Simple Way program in Philadelphia, which ministers to the homeless and people in need.
From there, the group will walk to City Hall park, where kids and chaperones will lay their heads for the night.
“We want to give them a sense of reality for some people,”
A midnight communion service will also take place.
Students, who are expected to gather from some 15 to 20 area churches, will then attend their church’s first morning service.
“It will be a rude awakening for cleaned up church members to find they have homeless people,” Martin said.
Those in attendance at those morning services can recognize the students, not only by their disheveled appearances, but also by their shirts which will read: Homeless for a night, hungry to make a difference.
Last year, the event raised more than $6,500 and 4,000 pounds of food. Martin says they’re hoping to do even more this year.
Donations will be accepted by the youngsters and churches for the two weeks following the event.
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by JAnderson (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think the teens need to "wrap their heads" around a good work ethic otherwise they WILL be homeless.
Posted by Lala (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 12:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think this is a good cause. Keep up the good work guys!!
Posted by really (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 2:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am proud of the kids that will be out there!! They are doing a great thing! Stay warm & dry!
Posted by JAnderson (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 2:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Warm and Dry? Now that doesn't sound like being homeless to me....more like a camp out. A little discomfort, uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, a little bit of coldness and some hunger pains for these kids will only help them. Only then will they start to be able to understand what being homeless is about, along with having an apppreciation for their lives. They'll be able to leave the service on Sunday to head home and take a hot shower, eat a great meal, and watch some tv in the comforts of their own home....the truely homeless would be back in the cardboard box.
What they are doing is a great thing...however, hopefully the take more from this experience than they just raised a few dollars and gathered some food.
Posted by really (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 2:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There is always one negative one in the bunch!
Regardless, what janderson thinks. I want my kids and the other kids to be warm and safe out there tomorrow!
This is a life experience for them.
Posted by JAnderson (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 3:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think a homeless man would say a life experience is when you just pissed yourself and you have no clothes to change into.
Posted by Mel (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 5:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"some 9,000 people in the state experience homelessness on any given night."
I thought that FDR and LBJ fixed it.
Posted by neocon (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 7:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
the homeless are bums there will always be a roof over a working mans head.
Posted by oh_its_you (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 8:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
what about the folks that lose their homes because predatory lenders convinced them to spend/borrow too much, or those that lose their jobs becuase their employer went out of business, or perhaps even those that had a medical emergency that knocked them flat on their face, I am sure that they are all lazy bums. It is an oxymoron to say that those that are homeless are lazy, it is exhausting! The majority of people in the state that are homeless have mental health issues, others just caught a bad break. A good chunck of them even manage to hold a job, but for some reason or another cannot secure housing. Did you know that there are only a handful of spots for youth that are homeless in our state... also nearly half of the people that are sleeping on MN streets, alleys, or under bridges are children. C'mon you 5 year olds, why don't you have a job? Unless you have walked a mile in the shoes of the homeless, you shouldn't judge.
While it is true that the kids that are doing this are going to go home and sleep in their bed, watch their TV, eat some yummy junk food, and be warm and dry, they are going to learn a lot from this. Perhaps the next time they see someone that is homeless they will have a newfound empathy for them.
I do believe that the overall goal of these programs is just as much promoting an awareness of homelessness as it is to give the kids an experience, I am really glad that these kids are doing this.
Posted by captainjoe (anonymous) on October 11, 2008 at 9:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Really,
Here is another negative one in the bunch. Warm and dry is only the tip of the iceberg, what parents enable their dumb cow kids to do now a days is shocking! Don't like the grade you got in school for an assignment in a class you rarely attend, and if they should happen to attend class they are texting to friends on the cell phone your parents bought you an pay for? Have your parents call and ream out the instructor and the school! Pay endless dollars and spend endless hours in the hockey rink raising hockey all stars? Then when your child breaks the MHSL rules and are drinking at a team mates house and get caught, all the parents, of the team members and in the school and on the school board pretend it never happened and hope their kids never do get caught so that consequences can be avoided.
Kids are what their parents and in this case,their churches, raise them to be. Selfish, lazy, egocentric people.
Yeah, stay warm and dry you little turds. An mommy, when they come home Sunday tell them how proud you are of how they are thinking of others....
Posted by twilight (anonymous) on October 11, 2008 at 4:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i participated this a few years back. It was so unorganized that i left. yeah it may be for good cause but please some organization. It was one of the worst experiences i have ever had.
Posted by threeoct (anonymous) on October 11, 2008 at 9:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I seriously cannot believe that there are people on this blog who would actually post such disrespectful, hurtful things regarding the kids in our community. I can certainly tell you that YES there are several kids IN THIS TOWN who DO go hungry on a nightly basis, and there are also those kids, though you may not know who they are, that do not know where they will be laying their heads at night. The teens that are committed to this event, as well as to the 30-Hour Famine among other missions, have a heartfelt passion to help those in need around them. Good job to all of the teens and youth leaders who were out there this weekend working and raising awareness. Do not let the comments on this blog stop you from doing what you know in your hearts is right.
Posted by captainjoe (anonymous) on October 12, 2008 at 8:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To threeoct,
I find it disrespectful and hurtful to publish a story or conduct an event that trivializes hunger, homelessness, and the general poor repsonse of Americans and Fergus Falls residents to the needs of others. My point is that these kids learn nothing through a one night experience when during the rest of thier lives they have no need for any of the basics of life, nor do their parents have the strength to let them go without a priviledged life.
You think there are several kids in this town who go to bed hungry at night? Several kids in a town of ten plus thousand? Wow--you have relly wrapped your head around this entire problem! There are many, many more than several kids threeoct, so you have just contributed to trivializing the roblem as well. Congratulations. Now get out there and donate to the food shelf or become a Bell Ringer for the Salvtion Army, donate lunch money to the schools, or however you choose to ACT. But don't just sit and write about how this one event is a such wonderful thing.
Posted by neocon (anonymous) on October 13, 2008 at 1:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think it's disgusting how some raise their children. who cares what life is like for the homeless? teach your kids to get a job and they will always keep a roof over their head.
Posted by schw0759 (anonymous) on October 13, 2008 at 3:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To call this article disrespectful and hurtful is in my opinion ignorant. You critize the writters for not acting but were you at the event on Saturday. I spent Saturday and Sunday with these kids and this event raised a large amount of money for Someplace Safe and collected a lot of food for the food shelf and will continue to do so through the participating churches over the next two weeks. It is true that this was not a true homeless experience, we all went home Sunday to a warm meal and a hot shower but these amanzing kids spent 7 hours Sat. helping those less fortunate how many people can say that. Saturday night we got to hear a great speaker talk about how all of us can have an effect and change the world. Then we after a small meal we spent the night outside with only cardboard boxes and a few tarps, I don't know how aware you are but Saturday night it rained and Sunday morning we had a thunderstorm all of which these kids were outside for. These kids did some impressive things over this last weekend and I think many of them came out of it with a better understanding of what it is to be homeless. If you don't think this is a good event or if you have a problem with these kids I would be glad to talk to you about it or better yet get off you butt and join us next year and see what you think.
Posted by Joe (anonymous) on October 13, 2008 at 9:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks for the update, schw0759!
Positive results will be realized anytime an individual or group places service to others before self. I trust your event was a time for reflection on how fortunate 'homed' people truly are.
Please don't let the negative comments on this thread taint your experience. Anonymity lacks accountability and certain individuals become emboldened with the 'privilege' of free speech abusing same by behaving inappropriately.
I believe Plato said it best (long before the advent of the internet): "As empty vessels make the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest blabbers."
Cheers!
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