What Does It Cost For You To Be You?

We are very fortunate to live in DuPage County; it’s one of the wealthiest counties in the nation. Employers willing to pay high-skilled workers substantial salaries are based here such a Lucent Technologies, McDonald’s Corporation, Tellabs, Inc, and BP Amoco. The federal government has also located two high profile centers in our county: Argonne and Fermi National Laboratories. The bar seems to be raised in our community and the cost to live here is much greater than if you lived in other areas of the country. This blog is meant to offer a reality check and really add up what it costs for a teen to “fit in” in DuPage County.

Let’s just tally up a list of the typical items that are a part of your everyday life:

With the exception of clothes and a backpack, most of the above items are more luxury than necessity. They make your life more enjoyable and exciting and allow you to “fit in” with your peers. One could argue that the cell phone is needed for safety and that a computer is necessary for success in school today. However, the fact remains that most of your parents are shelling out between $1,500 and $10,800 per year for you to fit in with your friends. On top of that, there is a monthly cost of $250 to $2,030 to maintain that lifestyle. The cost starts to multiply with more teens in the house.

What happens if your parents could no longer afford the bare necessities of food and shelter? The first things to go would be the list of items above. After that initial shock, the reality of no longer belonging to a community would overwhelm you. From not having a public library card to check out books for school projects, not being able to use computers in the public library, no longer participating in any extra curricular activities that require payment, not being able to invite your friends over to your house, to not being able to admit to your friends where you live. It’s amazing how much we take for granted until it’s taken away.

Can you think of one of those items listed above that you could do without for just one month or even just one week? Could you take that money and donate it toward helping those less fortunate than you? Maybe you could brown-bag lunches instead of buying them at school, forego a movie one weekend, or just stay out of Starbucks for a month. It all adds up and could really make a difference to someone in your own community who doesn’t even have the basics anymore. Remember, it’s the kids who become the innocent victims in homelessness.

So be a kid helping another kid. Put these items on your “TO DO” list this week:

• Find one thing on the list above that you can do without for just a week or the whole month and donate that money to SOS
• Sign up for Sleep Out Saturday
• Ask and a friend or family member to sponsor you
• Ask a friend to join you for SOS

Let us know what you think of this blog. Do you agree with our list of luxury items? Do you see your friends having this same list of items? Could you live without them? If so, how would you feel about that? Don’t forget to check back next week when we talk about how someone ends up being homeless.

Would you Sleep Out on Saturday, November 1st?

Welcome to the first of many blogs for the fifth annual SOS (Sleep out Saturday) season. Every week we will post more information about the what, where, when, and how to get involved in SOS 2008. Please feel free to chime in with any questions or comments; we want to hear from you!

You can either sleep out with your church or community youth group or ask friends to join you in your backyard. Either way, it’s your chance to experience homelessness for one night and make a difference in someone else’s life by asking friends and family to sponsor you. We purposely sleep out in November so you get a real feel for what it’s like to be outside looking in (that’s our theme for this year) on a cold autumn night. Then just imagine what it’s like in the winter!

SOS is put on by Bridge Communities, a non-profit organization in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. They help homeless people in DuPage County become self-sufficient again. Today, Bridge is celebrating 20 years of transforming the lives of homeless families through partnering with talented, resourceful individuals and groups in the community.

On the evening of the Sleep Out, we will provide a number of activities to help you come to grips with what it would be like to be homeless and to realize this problem exists in your own community. Activities may include viewing a movie, doing a scavenger hunt and attending the SOS Rally that evening from 6:30 to 8:00 at Bridge Communities, 505 Crescent Blvd., in Glen Ellyn. The SOS Rally is a great way for the hundreds of sleepers to come together and feel the power of helping your fellow neighbor in your own community.

Here’s what some of the experienced SOS sleepers have said about sleeping out:

• “How anyone could sleep on the cold and wet ground, and still get up in the morning and go to work or look for work, I don’t understand.”
• “I had a difficult time sleeping. I was cold and I was afraid my kids were cold. When I did sleep, I dreamed of homeless children. As I heard stories, I became fearful that it could happen to me, or anyone I know.”
• “This year I learned about the personal struggle to function on a day-to-day basis without the assurance of a roof over my head and a home to rest. This was profound for me. How it must wear on the body and soul”
• “We learned that we want to use the blessings we have been given to help those in need.”
• “This is a really important way for many of us who are so fortunate to relate to those unlucky few who have basic needs of shelter, security and love that are unmet.”

Take a look at the video to show you some of the sleepers last year and who they were able to help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siyF8uizz1Q (You can also find this video on www.sleepoutsaturday.org)

Here are suggestions for ways YOU can make a difference. Every bit counts!

1. Sign up to participate in SOS 2008 – to register go to www.sleepoutsaturday.org
2. Face book at least three of your friends and tell them about your SOS plan and encourage them to join you! In the coming days, we will be starting a Face book Group.
3. Ask at least two people this week to make a financial pledge. Once you register, they can make a pledge online! Send them to www.sleepoutsaturday.org
4. Donate your lunch money for one week to Bridge Communities to help a homeless person in your town.
5. Plan on starting the SOS night at the Rally with over 1000 other “Sleepers”!
   
   Check in with us if you have any questions, otherwise we will be back next week to discuss “What does it cost for you to be you?”