Sleepout 2016: Here’s why I’m sleeping out on March 25

UPDATE: T-minus 23 hours until SleepOut2016: By this time tomorrow I will be hunkered down for a night of caring and sharing with my fellow sleepers. We will congregate at the Radisson Hotel  — not in a cozy hotel room, but outside, under a tent, solidified in our commitment to the cause.

We are collectivly raising awareness and much-needed funding to aid those in our community who are out of options, teenagers who for one reason or another find themselves without a stable home environment.

In my world, I have welcomed more than a few at-risk teenagers into my home, those who would have otherwise been out of options. I think of Dave, who I first met at age 1o. By the time he was 17 his family situation had blown up. He was basically squatting in the family home that had been abandoned by his parents and siblings – his mother moved to a more stable living situation with her youngest child in another state; his father was incarcerated after a breakdown that included making threats against his wife, and the family dog.

Dave ended up living with us for a couple of years. He got his GED. He stabilized. He started working full time. He absorbed some of the lessons, by osmosis, about what it takes to make things work, and how to stick it out when the going gets tough.

Today Dave lives in another state, but he keeps in touch. He is working hard toward his future. He still has a lot of dreams, and he’s achieved a lot of success. His family situation is still a bit chaotic, but I truly believe that if we hadn’t opened our home and our hearts to him when we did, his outcome would have been very different.

In that way, I guess he was one of the lucky ones.

Friday night I will be sleeping out in honor of Dave, and to help those here in New Hampshire who don’t have a warm bed or a caring family to help them in their critical time of need.

I am asking anyone out there reading this, if you can, to donate to the cause. The information is below. Thank you.

43 Days Until SleepOut 2016 — Today I received a pre-fab post from Child & Family Services to help explain to potential supporters what the need is all about. Sam, pictured here, has a mother who is addicted and a father who is incarcerated. He still has a dream, but is beginning to let go of the hope that he might one day rise above his circumstances.

If nothing else, my hope is that by participating in this sleep-out effort,  a young man like Sam can find a stable environment and a mentor, and some counseling to untangle the self-doubt and shame that currently fill the space in his heart, where his dreams should live.

Please consider making a small donation to support my SleepOut 2016 effort, a symbolic gesture that is meant to produce tangible and life-changing results in the lives of our most vulnerable children.

44 Days Until SleepOut 2016 – Last year I promoted Child & Family Services first-ever Sleep Out with a few stories on this site. the sleep-out was created as a new way to bring awareness to a lingering problem: Homelessness among our most vulnerable.

This year, I’m putting myself out there, quite literally, to help make a difference. The catch: I’m putting your money where my mouth – and sleeping bag – will be. More on that in a minute.

According to Child & Family Services,  an estimated 300 youth are homeless in Greater Manchester on any given night for a range of reasons – abuse, neglect, mental illness, substance abuse, strained relationships, gender or sexual identity, and poverty.

Maybe they aren’t sleeping under the bridge in a tent, or in the backseat of a car. Perhaps they’re “couch-surfing” here and there for as long as they can, relying on the kindness of friends or relatives for a temporary fix to a deeper, more complex problem. Perhaps they’re part of the foster-care system, longing for a way to settle the problem of having basic needs met while working within our social service network, toward long-term stability before they “age out” of the system.

Last year’s inaugural sleep-out was a success, with more than $140,000 raised by about 50 “sleepers,” those who volunteered to participate, including teachers, business owners, police officers, community leaders and private citizens.

This year the goal is to double the number of sleepers and, in turn, increase the donations. Money raised by the CFS SleepOut goes right back into prevention and outreach, and the concerted effort to redirect the lives of New Hampshire’s homeless youth by guiding them toward self-sufficiency and becoming contributing members of our community.

Last year’s proceeds have already made a tangible difference, by allowing Child & Family Services to open the doors to a new comprehensive resource center on Lincoln Street.

This year, I’ve agreed to participate in the March 25 Sleep-out as a member of the media. As part of inserting myself into the mix, I have pledged to generate some donations for the cause – which is why you are reading this post.

⇒CALL TO ACTION: If you are willing and able to make a donation of any amount, please click here and then click on the orange “donate” button. By doing so, you will help me help Child & Family Services continue their outreach in our community. If you prefer to crowd-source this effort, maybe you can rally some of your friends at work, and donate the equivalent of a one-day Dunkin’ Donuts run? Or the cost of ordering lunch out for the office by brown-bagging it for just one day?

Child and Family Services helps approximately 1,500 runaway, homeless and street youth, per year, providing them with the basic elements for their survival, and tools to rise up out of their situation, toward personal success. Proceeds from this event will help to fulfill basic needs such as food, clothing, and access to shelter and medical care, and will support mental health and substance abuse counseling, educational advocacy, job search and housing.

This awareness and fundraising campaign is just one small part of what Child & Family Services does –  to fill in the gaps and to repair the tattered fabric of family life that wears thin from the stresses of daily living.

Below are links to the many important programs made possible through the work of this vital organization. They are outreaches that make a difference, every day, in the lives of New Hampshire residents, from cradle to grave:

• ADOPTION
• EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES
• FOSTER CARE
• MENTAL HEALTH
• FAMILY COUNSELING
• PREGNANCY COUNSELING
• SCHOOL BASED SERVICES
• SUBSTANCE ABUSE
• TEEN & YOUNG ADULT
• FAMILY SUPPORT
• PARENT EDUCATION
• SENIOR / INDEPENDENT LIVING
• HOME CARE
• SUMMER CAMP
• SUPERVISED VISITATION CENTER
  

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