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Spending 'A Night Without a Home'
Nov 13, 2009 (Superior Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Spending the night in a box opened Tom Wondolkowski's eyes.
"I knew next to nothing about homelessness before we started," he said. Yet he volunteered to organize the first A Night Without A Home event two years ago.
Wondolkowski and fellow volunteers bundled up and brought cardboard boxes to City Center Park on the corner of Belknap Street and Tower Avenue. They stoked up a wood fire, with food available for those who stopped by to donate.
Some of the people who warmed their hands and enjoyed a cup of soup with the volunteers pulled up in cars piled high with belongings.
Although the event was meant to help homeless people, Wondolkowski said, "I didn't realize homeless people would show up.
"They don't fit the stereotype."
Now in its third year, the 24-hour campout is aimed at not just helping the homeless, but making the community aware of the approximately 600 homeless people in Douglas County.
"Homeless people are not inhuman," said Rev. Barb Certa-Werner, executive director of Harbor House Crisis Shelters in Superior, "They are like you and I."
In fact, they could be you and I, she said.
"For most of us, homelessness is becoming more of a reality or a possibility," Certa-Werner said.
Harbor House, a ministry of Faith United Methodist Church, serves an average of 300 people per year, providing emergency and transitional shelter as well as case management services. In 2008, the organization served a record 445 people. This year, 350 people have already utilized Harbor House services. And it's been a tough fall.
"We can't serve any more than we are serving," Certa-Werner said. Many in search of shelter have been referred to other service providers.
The homeless can be found all over Douglas County, from campsites off of Moccasin Mike Road to shelters near the railroad tracks in Superior. One year, Wondolkowsi found sleeping bags in the bushes surrounding the park as they set up for A Night Without a Home.
This year, the sleepout kicks off at noon Saturday and runs until noon Sunday at the newly renovated park on the corner of Tower Avenue and Belknap Street.
"It's the most meaningful thing I do throughout the year," Wondolkowski said. "It feels so good to do something like this for people who have literally nothing."
Volunteers will spend the night accepting donations for Harbor House, the Center Against Sexual and Domestic Abuse, Solid Rock and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Along with money, items such as winter coats, mittens, boots, blankets, sleeping bags, food, furniture, personal hygiene items and cleaning supplies will be accepted. Basics such as toilet paper, paper towels, laundry soap and disinfectants are always needed, Certa-Werner said. There is also a need for extra-large and maternity clothes. All items must be new or gently used and clean.
Businesses can also give. "In kind" donations such as gift certificates for food, lodging, hair cuts and gasoline are appreciated.
Many area businesses have already stepped up, offering food for the event and such items as wood, propane heaters and tents. Wondolkowski took them up on the food and basic tents, but declined the heaters and high-tech tents.
"The homeless aren't sleeping in $600 tents," he said.
About 40 volunteers are expected to attend, although only a core group actually spends all night at the site.
"It's a great event," Wondolkowski said. "It makes me feel like I'm really making a difference."
He is, Certa-Werner said. Last year, the event raised $2,500 in cash and volunteers stuffed two trucks full of donated food and clothing. It also left Wondolkowski too tired to watch the Sunday Packers game. After the first two minutes, he said, he was asleep.
But he's eager to do it all again this weekend.
"It's from the heart," he said.
Everyone is invited to stop by and enjoy some food and conversation during the urban campout and learn a little more about how to help the homeless.
"If we work together, we can make homelessness go away," Certa-Werner said.
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