Feature: Homeless Youth & Reggie’s SleepOut

Samantha Thomas wants you to experience homelessness. Don’t worry. She only wants the experience to last one night. She also would like for you and other people to donate money so young people do not have to suffer through homelessness night after night. You can do either one or both by participating in the second annual Reggie’s SleepOut November 2-3, 2007.

The Sleep Out will take place from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. at Drake’s stadium. Registration starts at 3:00 p.m. After 7:00 p.m. participants will not be permitted to exit then re-enter the stadium. The event is a fundraiser for Iowa Homeless Youth Centers and other non-profit organizations.

I met Thomas when she was going around Des Moines talking about her SleepOut team. Later, I interviewed her during a phone conversation for this blog. A student at Drake University, Thomas recently began a job that puts her into regular contact with young women who have been homeless. Now in her early twenties, she wants to join the Peace Corps and to work in Africa. Her goal is to help people who do not have the food and the shelter that they need.

Thomas spent 10 weeks in London as part of a study program when she was a student at DMACC. In addition to going to museums, Thomas went in search of the ghettos. She described them as places of mixed immigrants, the poorest of the poor. Another student who has studied in Budapest, where Thomas is planning to spend 4 months as part of a Drake/AISS program, told her that gypsies are everywhere in that city, broke and poor. As for her experiences at Drake, Thomas said it is sad what people around campus don’t know about homeless youth. It was through a friend that Thomas became aware of homelessness. That friend lived in a car, spent time at coffee houses, and crashed where she could. Thomas also watched her mom give money to the homeless and pick vegetables from her garden to share.

Team I Have a Dream is Thomas’ group for Reggie’s SleepOut. She chose this name because, “we all have a dream to see children succeed.” Currently, her team consists of herself, a friend, and her mother but she would like to have five more people join up. The team will construct a shelter out of cardboard and decorate it.

Through the Reggie’s Sleep Out web site you can register to participate in the Sleep Out; choose a team, if you wish; donate money; and, learn more about the beneficiaries of your support. Several church groups and supporters of presidential candidate Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) also are hosting teams at the Sleep Out. Three 42-inch flat panel televisions will be given away, one for the best decorated box, one to the individual who raises the most money, and one to the team that raises the most money.

Thomas was unable to participate last year and said she has not heard much about the 2006 Sleep Out. After a moment thinking about it, she said one colleague described the event as fun and said it inspired her to do more.

Thomas defined homeless youth as being between 16 and 24 years of age. I asked her who she thought the homeless were and she replied there is a collection of youth from outside Des Moines. Thomas was not sure if they were drawn here by the economy and then found themselves in a rut or if there were other reasons.

Reggie Kelsey, after whom the Sleep Out is named, died in the Des Moines River in 2001 after aging out of foster care. In addition to the Sleep Out, programs were established as a result of Reggie’s death to help other youth aging out of foster care in Des Moines. Mary Brownback, wife of presidential candidate Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), also is concerned about older children in foster care. When I interviewed her this summer for Leading Voices: Iowa, Brownback said she wanted to start a faith-centered organization that would offer transitional housing to 16- and 17-year-old youth who would be aging out of the foster care system to help them learn how to live on their own.

Thomas believes that people need to take a stand against homelessness in both Des Moines and in the United States. When asked if she thought it was more important for people to join the SleepOut or to donate money, Thomas responded, “I want to see people out there. Money is great but participation is more important.” She described the upcoming event as “an eclectic bunch of individuals…giving our best for a good cause.”

Guest Writer: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.