Services

High School Seniors to learn the plight of homeless people at the October 22 Baltimore Sleep Out for the Homeless

Media Contact
Renee Johnson 

12 Oct 11 12:00 AM CDT

One hundred high school seniors will participate in the October 22 Baltimore Sleep Out for the Homeless, sponsored by Catholic Charities and Jobs Housing Recovery, Inc (“JHR”).  The event will run from 6:30 p.m. on October 22 to 7:30 a.m. on October 23 with the sleep out taking place in the parking lot of Our Daily Bread Employment Center, 725 Fallsway.

Baltimore Sleep Out for the Homeless is an educational, community-based event that is designed to inform and educate Baltimore-area youth about issues surrounding homelessness and inspire them to advocacy. During the event, the students will participate in a variety of facilitated discussions and hands-on activities that will bring home to them the reality of poverty and homelessness including:

Educational Activities

Living on the Edge

In groups of five, participants will receive a case study for a low-income homeless family or individual. They will then be challenged to “live” that person’s or family’s life including paying for food and shelter and dealing with the “wild cards” of life.

Make Your Own Shelter 

Participants will be provided with items that homeless individuals commonly use to make shelters and will be instructed to make a shelter that can protect them from the elements. JHR/ODBEC staff will judge the shelters and give out awards for best design, most practical, best decorated, most creative, etc.

Hearing It All: Testimonies from the Homeless and Their Advocates

Each Participant will hear testimonies and will engage in discussions with two of the following four sets of speakers who will address the following challenges:

  • The impact of homelessness on children and young adults
  • Physical and mental health care for the homeless
  • The relationship between substance abuse and homelessness
  • Prisoner re-entry into the community

Service Activities

  • A Hot Breakfast for Those in Need: Participants will be offered the opportunity to prepare and serve a hot breakfast for clients at JHR’s Housing Resource Center, a service that has never before been offered to the clients.
  • PB&J the Night Away: This program will be available throughout the night. Participants will work in teams to make as many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as they can within a specific time frame, competing for a prize.
  • Bagging the Basics: Similar to the program above, students will work in teams to bag as many toiletry items as they can within a specific time frame. 

Participating Schools include:

  • Archbishop Spalding High School
  • Christo Rey Jesuit High School
  • Girls Empowerment Mission
  • Institute of Notre Dame
  • Loyola Blakefield
  • Maryvale Preparatory School
  • McDonough School
  • Mount St. Joseph High School
  • Seton Keough High School

The activities will take place at Catholic Charities’ Our Daily Bread Employment Center and the Homeless Resource Center on Fallsway.

More information about Our Daily Bread Employment Center

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