Homelessness is a crisis in many of the communities where IS caregivers serve, and Anchorage is no exception. Covenant House charities, part of Catholic charities, hold annual “sleep out” events across the U.S. to spend a night sleeping on the streets to show solidarity with our nation’s homeless and raise funds for their shelter and to combat the issue.
IS strategic partner exec. director for Alaska, Jessica Oswald, will be taking part in this year’s Anchorage Covenant House Sleep Out as part of a Providence St. Joseph Health team. This means that, on the night of March 22, Jessica and others will spend an evening in fellowship with homeless youth staying at the Covenant House shelter, then take to sleeping bags and pieces of cardboard to spend the night in the street.
Jessica is fundraising in the lead-up to the Sleep Out and would like IS to hear more about the work of Covenant House and consider supporting her. She shares this note:
PSJH family,
On March 22, I’m sleeping on the street in Anchorage as a participant in the Covenant House Sleep Out as part of a Providence team. For this one night, I’ll trade my bed for a piece of cardboard and a sleeping bag on the ground.
Sounds crazy, right? Not nearly as crazy as this: Nearly 2,000 homeless kids will turn to Covenant House for help each night. I’ve joined a group of people who want to do something about it. It’s an act of solidarity with the 4.2 million young people who experience homelessness each year. It’s a decision that we can’t stay indoors while so many kids remain outside.
We’re going to spend a night at the Covenant House shelter with a group of kids that live there. We’ll hear their stories, and learn how they’re making new lives for themselves. And at midnight, when the kids go to sleep in their warm beds, we will head outside with our cardboard boxes.
We’re sleeping outside for one night, so homeless kids don’t have to. Help me help kids by making a donation on my fundraising page – Covenant House Sleep Out to Support Homeless Youth March 2019.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and support!
Jessica Oswald – 781-367-5440 (cell)