Students "Sleep-Out For The Homeless": Is This Effective Advocacy?

There's a new trend among some of America's active youth. It's called "Sleeping Out For The Homeless." Groups of people gather in a local park or on the sidewalk and spend the night in sleeping bags or under cardboard boxes, to raise awareness about homelessness.

These groups often raise money for local veteran support groups or national homelessness organizations, but the "sleep-outs" are also facing an online backlash. Change.org criticizes an article in the Simpson College newspaper titled 'Students experience homelessness.'

Shannon Moriarty from Change.org gives a list of things she thinks would enhance the advocacy event:

Openly acknowledge that one night camping out in a monitored group environment is a completely different experience than losing everything and ending up on the streets. A one-night camping experience can never replicate the stress, fear, pain, loss of pride, and loss of hope that often coincides with being homeless.

According to The Simpsonian, the original sleepout began in 2006 as Reggie's Sleepout, named after a homeless man who drowned in the Des Moines river after growing out of the foster care system.

The Reggie's Sleepout website shows over $92,000 in donations raised for the 4th annual sleepout. The website also makes no claims that attendees will "experience homelessness." The sleepout does, after all, take place in a stadium with food and beverages provided.

Have you attended a sleepout? Raised money for the homeless? What's the best way to advocate? Leave your comments and we may very well add it to our list of ways to advocate for the homeless.

Comments

[deli lama]

homelessness is caused by the lack of affordable housing. the lack of affordable housing is caused by a variety of factors, including local zoning laws, real estate code restrictions, severe housing code restrictions, vacant land taxation systems that are favorable to vacancy and absentee owners/spe­culators/h­oarders, and so on. these are the real, typically local, and unnoticed problems that honestly keep folk from acquiring their own roof. elsewhere in the world, a great many people even poorer than america's homeless nevertheless sleep under roofs and surrounded by walls.

how can that be?

regardless of the mental or spiritual or physical health or character or personal choices or consumption habits of a typical american "homeless" person, said person is nevertheless clothed and usually shod.

with our own eyes we have seen this to be typically true. but how is it possible?

it is because the price of clothing including shoes is affordable (sometimes zero), and access to clothing and shoes is unrestricted, fashion is largely unregulated, and the supply of clothing and shoes is wondrously abundant.

but if america's clothing and shoe business were run anything like america's real estate business, then the typical homeless person would be naked and barefoot as well.

[Nicole Morinire]

I cannot speak for other similar events taking place across the country, but regarding Reggie's Sleepout, those organizing and participating in the event are not claiming to be experiencing what those who are homeless go through on a daily basis by any means. The event is simply a symbolic way of raising awareness about the issue, not only homelessness but specifically youth homelessness, as well as raising funds for an organization that works specifically with that population.

[AdamtheHairy]

Having lived in poverty, worked in homeless shelters and worked for the welfare system, I can relate to the life experiences of a homeless person as close to the actual experience as possible, without actually living without shelter or other necessary resources. But does this make me more or less qualified to advocate for homeless youth? What expectations could one have for a high school student who manages to raise hundreds of dollars to donate to homeless youth shelters in his free time and who still finds time to spend the night in a box, in the rain, in the cold, regardless of whether refreshments or facility security were provided? Thank you for the change.org quote, but it misses the point. Are sleepouts really attempting to “replicate” homeless or are they merely trying to create awareness of a problem and offering an efficient volunteer opportunity to combat it? As an example, does someone need to have breast cancer to advocate for its awareness or cure? I have not seen any articles suggesting that such “stress, fear, pain, loss of pride, and loss of hope” need to coincide with those types of fundraising efforts. I was at Reggie’s Sleepout and the 1,500 or so individuals who raised over 150,000 dollars for local homeless youth centers should only be commended for their support of this cause, regardless of whether they have personally experienced homelessness.

[clementclementgo]

I read some criticism aimed at the disparity between camping out in a stadium where food is served vs sleeping out in a cardboard box and have to admit I'm incredulous. Why would you want anyone to feel what it's like to be "truly homeless"?
We should be grateful these kids took time out of their lives to at least spend time raising money for a good cause. Praise them for their efforts, educate them on what more could be done, and where else to volunteer. This is an opportunity to inspire, raise awareness, and teach others what it's like to volunteer. Criticizing their efforts is counterproductive.
If we can get one out of 40 kids to volunteer again, that's one more volunteer we didn't have before, that's one more person willing to make an effort to intitiate change for someone they don't even know. One night sleeping in a cardboard box so another kid can have one night off the streets seems like a fair trade.
I was fortunate enough to be a part of Iowa Homeless Youth running their coffee shop Reggie's Place. We helped keep kids off the streets and provide a safe place to rest, get some advice, hang out with their friends and stay warm. These donations will help other kids have that one moment of peace.

No one should know what it's like to be homeless, go out and help somebody!

BTW< I believe the photo above is from my alma mater, Drake University.