Bay Shore Lutheran youth attempted to walk a day in a homeless person's shoes Saturday.
For the second year in a row, a group of 29 kids from Bay Shore Lutheran slept outside on the church lawn Saturday night to raise awareness of homelessness in Milwaukee and raise funds for the Hope House homeless shelter. The youth raised over $1,400 for the Hope House.
The kids built houses out of cardboard to help protect them from the wind and the 29 degree temperatures. After building their houses, the group ate a simple dinner and participated in activities to learn about homelessness. A church member who had previously been homeless shared his story and was available for questions.
The most memorable part of the night was the experience of sleeping outside in the cold.
"As cold and as uncomfortable as the experience was, the youth realized there were many differences between their experience and someone who is homeless - mainly the youth would all return to their warm homes, they did not have to worry about their safety, they all knew when their next meal would be, and they knew in the morning they could go home and take a shower," said Carolyn Karl, the church's director of youth and family ministry. "The youth also realized they had many layers of clean clothing to use, top of the line sleeping bags and coats, hand warmers, etc."
