Sleepover at All Pro Freight Stadium to Help Homeless

Imagine not knowing where you will sleep tonight or what or when your next meal will be. This is the plight of many homeless men and women in the area.

To raise awareness, the Elyria-based Neighborhood House Association (NHA) which operates the Haven Center Homeless Shelter, is organizing a "Homeless Night Sleepover" Friday at A.

“This is the first time we are having the event to bring awareness and give people an understanding of what it’s like to be homeless,” NHA Special Events Coordinator, Chris Aiello said. “People often have a connection to someone who has cancer, Alzheimer’s or diabetes, which all are good causes to support, but they often do not know of a homeless person. This is our way of bringing this connection to the people and asking them to feel a little bit of what it is like to be homeless.”

For the free event, participants are asked to BYOB, ‘bring your own box,” and blankets to sleep over at the stadium outside.  A traditional soup kitchen meal will be served. They also will take part in a poverty simulation activity to further enhance the experience. Organizers requested those attending the sleepover to bring a donation of laundry detergent, pillows or rubber flip flops for the shelter.

“We have approximately 50 people involved,” said Aiello. “Several groups are from area churches. Students from also are sleeping over. It’s a great service project for students and clubs. We hope to increase publicity and participation next year."

The sleepover is a prelude to the NHA's  , which will be April 16 at All Pro Freight Stadium. 

The Haven Center is a 68-bed shelter serving over 700 men, women and children each year. The Center is more than just food and a bed for the night. It also provides a variety of human resource services to help people move into permanent housing. Each person or family meets with staff members to develop a case plan with both short-term and long-term goals to find housing and address other problems.

The Haven Center staff works closely with other community resources, including Lorain County Human Services, Salvation Army, Nord Center, Lorain County Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Catholic Charities, local hospitals, drug/alcohol programs, psychiatric hospitals, and other social service agencies.

To register for the NHA Home Run for the Homeless walk, go to www.Walk2011.com. Register by March 30 for a chance to win an iPad.