Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there.
Surviving beyond shadows, the tired, cold and hungry have nowhere to call their own.
It is for that reason the Youth and Shelter Services of Marshall County will hold its Fourth Annual Homeless Awareness Sleep Out Saturday on the grounds of the Iowa Veterans Home.
As November is National Homeless Awareness Month, the occasion was ultimately created for bringing light to an issue that is not only one of national proportion, but of locality as well.
"We do a count twice a year throughout the area and it shows up to 50 people homeless on that given day," says Director David Hicks. "But that's a drop in the bucket because there are many who are sleeping in vehicles and couch-hopping, which is very common. There could be hundreds."
Participants are urged to bring tents, tarps and cardboard boxes for the event, but Hicks reminds that the over-night stay is not a replication of what it is like to be without a home.
"We all know there are beds we're going to sleep in the next night," he said. "This is just to create awareness that homelessness is an issue within our community, and this is how some people exist."
Registration begins at 5 p.m with dinner being served from 6 to 6:30 p.m. The Awareness Program will be held from 6:30 to 7 p.m. as the sleep out begins and continues through 8 a.m. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult for the duration.
The Homeless Awareness Sleep Out is presented in coordination with Homeless Awareness month and sponsored in part by Marshall County's Local Homeless Coordinating Board and the Iowa Veterans Home.
For more information, contact YSS at 641-752-2300.
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Contact Tammy R. Lawson at 641-753-6611 or tlawson@timesrepublican.com
