SLEEP OUT SATURDAY RALLY

Last Call for Sleep Out Saturday – Nov. 1

SLEEP OUT SATURDAY RALLY

WHO:
SOS sleepers, their friends & family, and anyone interested in helping those that become homeless.

WHEN:
November 1, 2008
6:30-8pm

WHERE:
Bridge Communities Headquarters – downtown Glen Ellyn
505 Crescent Blvd, Glen Ellyn

WHAT:
Sleep Out Saturday Rally

• CBS2 anchor Rob Johnson will emcee the event
• Jam to “Flipside” - a very cool local band
• Be entertained by The River 95.9 Street Team
• Meet veteran SOS sleepers who will give you some good advice
• Meet and listen to a former Bridge client whose family experienced homelessness to find out what it is was like for them and how Bridge made all the difference in what their future will be.

What happens when you run out of money?

There are many reasons why people end up in a homeless situation; those include poor planning, a mother and her children (with no income) leaving an abusive spouse, over spending, or a tragedy that financially depletes the family. Bridge Communities receives approximately 880 phone calls each year from families in a housing crisis. In fact, a one-night survey conducted on January 25, 2007 indicated that 766 persons in DuPage County were homeless that night. Did you know that the average age of a homeless person in DuPage County is eight? Of the 45,000 DuPage County residents living in poverty, 30% are under age five. The children are the innocent victims of homelessness.

So what does happen when the money runs out and the family can no longer afford housing?

Here’s what our clients experience:

· Kids start failing classes since they are upset and worried about their unsettled situation. They are unable to concentrate on their studies and keep up with the class.

· The family no longer has access to a computer and cannot use the library’s computers since they no longer are a resident and no longer have a library card.

· Some teens drop out of school to work and bring in wages for the family.

· Kids feel isolated and embarrassed and do not admit their situation to their friends; it becomes awkward for them when their friends ask, “Where do you live?” or “Could we meet at your house?”

· There are many incidentals many of us take for granted such as lunch money, field trip money, food at home for school lunches, spending money for a treat, money for new shoes, new backpack, the list is endless. For a family experiencing homelessness, these incidentals become major hurdles to address on a daily basis.

· Kids become even more isolated because many of the group activities or sports teams in which they participated in the past are no longer affordable now.

· Single moms must find work to bring in an income, however they cannot afford childcare.

In summary, life becomes stressful, embarrassing and about survival. The good news is that Bridge is able to help many of those families help themselves. By bridging the gap and providing housing, the parent can go to school to learn new skills to find a higher paying job. Also the Bridge counselors and mentors work with the family on budgeting, life skills, and tutoring the children. For the past 20 years Bridge has been making a difference and you can help by participating in SOS and raising funds to support the cause.

This week bring a can to school with you and ask your friends to donate all their loose change to Bridge Communities. Then ask your parents and neighbors for their support by giving their loose change. As you know, every little bit counts! You will be amazed at how much you can collect in a week if you just give it a try!

Bridge Communities Turns 20!

This week Bridge Communities celebrates its 20^th Anniversary. In September of 1988 Mark Milligan and Bob Wahlgren volunteered to help out at PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter). “I was struck by how many children were there that evening, the real innocent victims of homelessness are the kids,” Mark told us. He went home wondering what he might be able to do to just make a difference for one of those families. Later that month, Mark and Bob shared with a small group of friends the idea they had to help homeless families transition from despair to hope and rebuild for their future. Their friends joined in their effort and donated funds to help sustain an apartment for three months. The following month “The Apartment Project” was founded through First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn which provided mission funding to help house and mentor one homeless family-providing them with the break they need to get back on their feet. Since then, there have been many milestones:

Ø September of 1994 - the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awards $627,000 to Bridge to build an 8–unit apartment building

Ø January of 1996 - Bridge was serving nearly 15 families annually in cooperation with Catholic Charities and several church affiliations

Ø September of 1996 – Bridge hires an executive director, case managers and other staff members and moves into permanent office space

Ø December 1997 – 40 families enrolled in the program

Ø Fall 2004 – Bridge’s first SOS – Sleep Out Saturday where nearly 500 DuPage County residents experience homelessness for one night

Ø December 2005 – 70 families served annually

Ø January 2008 – Bridge partners with nearly 400 volunteers who serve as mentors, learning resource “teachers” and professional tutors.

Ø October 2008 – Bridge celebrates 20 years of helping over 1800 people who were homeless get back on their feet again.

This past year alone, there were 1004 phone calls to Bridge from families in a housing crisis and Bridge was able to provide 71,000 nights of shelter. Bridge now has 74 apartments in the transitional housing program located in DuPage County.

20^th Anniversary Challenge: Blog us back and tell us 20 words that describe homelessness to you. The best entry will win a prize at the Sleep Out Saturday Rally on November 1st!

How Will You Pay For College?

Many of the teens sleeping out on November 1 are planning to attend college in the future. And many of those same teens are lucky enough to have parents who can afford to send them to college or at least help them find a way to afford to attend college. But what if you knew there was no chance for you to go to college? Your world of opportunities would look very different.

According to CNNMoney.com for the last 20 years, colleges and universities across America have been raising the cost of tuition at a faster rate than the costs have risen on any other major product or service – four times faster than the overall inflation rate and faster even than increases in the price of gasoline or health care. Unbelievably the price for college has skyrocketed 439% since 1982.

A family with at least one strong income can barely afford to send their child or children to college. It’s impossible to think someone that is homeless could afford college. We are happy to report that Bridge Communities was able to award five scholarships last July to help with tuition costs for five different kids to go to college. Bridge understands the importance of keeping teens' dreams alive and allowing them the opportunities to succeed.

For many of those other homeless families who couldn’t obtain a scholarship, their teens will need to help with the family income by finding a job. That job will most likely earn them a minimum wage. If you worked 40 hours a week on minimum wage (federal minimum wage is $5.85 per hour) you would earn $12,168 for the year, before taxes. You still couldn’t afford the rent of a basic apartment in DuPage County. If you did have just enough for rent, there would be nothing left for food, clothes and the list goes on. One of the first questions Bridge counselors ask their homeless client: “how can we increase your skill level with education so you can earn a higher salary which will allow you to afford your basic living expenses?”

The message here is to stay in school and do well in your studies. Learn as much as you can so you can continue on to college. That college diploma will open up all sorts of new opportunities for you to work and earn a salary that will afford a house, a car, food and clothes. According to CollegeRecruiter.com, college graduates who majored in marketing are starting at an average salary of $41,300; accounting majors are averaging $47,700 their first year; those majoring in computer science landing their first job can expect to start at $51,000. Well worth the investment of working hard in school!

Stay and school, do well, and invest in your future.

Visit www.sleepoutsaturday.org to learn more about Bridge Communities and what Sleep Out Saturday is all about!

Outside Looking In

On the outside looking in is no place for a high school junior or anyone else!

This year’s theme is “Outside Looking In.” Cristy was a high school junior when she and her mother became clients of Bridge Communities. Cristy felt that way when she attended high school. She commented, “I felt unwelcome, I didn’t feel normal….I had to lie because I was too embarrassed to talk about where I had been”, which was homeless.”

For Jill, a mother of six, the phone call to Bridge Communities was one of the most difficult calls she had ever made. She is a single mom who supported her children by working in the mortgage industry for the past 18 years. When the mortgage industry drastically declined, she lost her job. She could no longer make the housing payments and they quickly became homeless. “I felt a real sense of failure letting my kids down. Kids should never have to worry about having a roof over their head.” Luckily, Jill did make the call to Bridge and was accepted into the program. Now, with the help of Bridge, she is pursuing her dream of becoming a registered nurse while working to put a roof over her family’s heads.

Did you know that unemployment in DuPage County, though low by national standards, remains at a relatively high level compared to historic trends? Although DuPage County has the second highest median income in the Chicago Area, it has more low income persons than the total population of 87 counties in Illinois, according to the DuPage Federation on Human Services.

We asked Bridge what they found to be significant factors, patterns and/or obstacles for people who become homeless. Once you take alcohol and drug abuse out of the picture, here’s their list of top reasons:

• High rate of domestic abuse
  
  
• Make bad relationship choices
  
  
• Bad credit, high debt
  
  
• Lack of budgeting skills
  
  
• Depression is a common theme
  
  
• Lower functioning – poor education, undiagnosed learning disabilities
  
  
• Lack of specific professional training or expertise
  
  
• Decision making is framed through a short term, “survival” type of lens
  
  
• Lack of understanding of long term consequences or effects from this kind of decision making. Inability to think/plan long term

It’s important to realize that in a wealthy county like DuPage, there are a number of people struggling with homelessness. Share this story with a friend and ask him or her to join us on November 1^st for Sleep Out Saturday. Then go ask two more people to sponsor you. It only takes $25 a night to house a person in the Bridge Communities transitional housing program.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! visit www.sleepoutsaturday.org for more information.

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?”

Get Ready for Sleep Out Saturday 2008!

We invite you to register yourself or your group to participate in the 5th Annual Sleep Out Saturday for the Homeless! 100% of all funds raised by individuals and groups go directly to providing services for Bridge Communities' clients!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Rally: Downtown Glen Ellyn
6:30 - 8:00 pm

Visit www.sleepoutsaturday.org to register and/or pledge a "sleeper".

More information will be coming soon for our 2008 event on November 1st. Be sure to stop back in the next few weeks to learn more... stay tuned!

Get revved for THE RALLY!

The Rally and Sleep Out Saturday is THIS Saturday, November 3rd. It’s here!!

Rally Location: 505 Crescent Blvd in downtown Glen Ellyn

Schedule of Events

6:30pm The Plural of Sheep band starts rockin’
· Sleepers can pick up their T-shirt, as well as purchase warm cozy ski caps
· Sleepers turn in pledge envelopes and cash/checks
· Coffee and Hot Cocoa will be served

7:10pm Program Kicks-off with Channel 2 News anchor Rob Johnson
· Learn how families become homeless
· Listen to Jessica, who found herself homeless
· See the benefits of sleeping out

8:00 pm DuPage County treasure - Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus

8:10pm Closing remarks

Don’t forget: The group who raises the most money will win a party at Lucky Strikes Bowling.

What Really is the Minimum Wage in DuPage County?

$7.75 an hour doesn’t go far

The truth of the matter is that a person with a family can’t survive on minimum wage. In Illinois, the minimum wage was just bumped up to $7.75 an hour. At that rate, someone would have to work 20 hours a day, five days a week to be able to barely afford the basic needs in DuPage County for a family of four. We pretty much know that working that much is impossible.

Living below the poverty line in DuPage

Last year in Naperville alone, there were 4,292 people living in poverty. The poverty line is defined as a family of four making $20,000 or less. Though not officially poor, families with low incomes ($40,000 a year or less) often still find it difficult to meet their basic needs.

Hard Choices

Low–income residents in DuPage County are forced to choose between paying their rent or going to the doctor, living in a safe home or having child care, keeping the phone on or having enough food. An estimated 45,000 to 63,000 people in DuPage have no health insurance. Last year, between the months of January and March, an average of 8,424 DuPage County households needed to go to food pantries each month.

Think about transportation alone. Living in the suburbs, a car becomes a necessity. Owning a car can be very expensive. Workers making $12 an hour spend about 20 percent of their income on transportation; in contrast minimum wage earners spend about 45 percent.

Going Beyond Minimum Wage

One way Bridge Communities helps the clients they serve is to take time out to train or educate the person for a specific job so they can begin to earn a higher hourly rate or salary. They must be able to earn more than minimum wage to survive in DuPage County.

Bridge Communities wants to thank you for making a difference. By sleeping out on November 3rd and finding sponsors, you are telling everyone that you acknowledge this to be a problem and you are doing something toward solving it.

Join Us for Sleep Out Saturday 2007 Rally

Each year we kick off Sleep Out Saturday with a bang with our county-wide RALLY. Details for the 2007 Rally include:

Location: The Rally will be held on November 3rd in the commuter parking lot next to the Bridge Communities office. Bridge Communities is located at 505 Crescent Blvd, Glen Ellyn 60137. We are located in downtown Glen Ellyn just west of Main Street.


Outside: After much consideration and research into facilities throughout DuPage County, we came to the conclusion to hold the Rally outdoors. The Rally will be outdoors rain or shine. Holding the Rally outdoors brings much needed authenticity to the event and holds true to the mission of Sleep Out Saturday.

Please dress warmly. We will serve Starbuck’s hot cocoa and coffee. And we promise to make the Rally an event worth the cold!


Schedule: The Rally is scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM with music by The Plural of Sheep. The program will begin at 7:10 PM. The Rally will end by 8:00 PM with a performance from the Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus.

If you want to have ample time to listen to the band, please plan to arrive around 6:30 PM. If you wish to arrive closer to the start of the program, please plan to arrive around 7:00 PM.


Entertainment: The band The Plural of Sheep will perform from 6:30 – 7:10 PM. This local band, made up of Glen Ellyn teens will entertain the crowd with original and cover material of Indie rock and pop.

Matt Wilhelm, BMX biker and 3 time medalist at the X Games will perform bike tricks from 6:40 – 7:10 PM.

Rob Johnson from Channel 2 will serve as the evening’s emcee.

Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus will wrap-up the event with a heart-warming performance and interactive songs.


Transportation: Laidlaw Education Services has agreed to partner with us to provide free transportation to and from the Rally.

If you wish to ride with a participating Sleep Out group in your area, please contact me for a list of locations who plan to use our Laidlaw buses.


Give-aways: We will give away Sleep Out Saturday 2007 t-shirts to the first 500 persons to arrive at the Rally. Once they are gone – they’re GONE.


Ski Caps: To help keep you warm throughout the night – we will sell ski caps for $6. The caps are made of a black knit with Bridge Communities embroidered on the hats. If you would like hats, please plan to purchase them the night of the Rally for $6 per hat.

Incentives: Bridge Communities will give away a bowling pizza party at the new, very cool Lucky Strikes Bowling alley located at Yorktown Shopping Center in Lombard to one lucky group. How do you win this party?

Your group must raise at least $4,000 AND it must be the group that raises the MOST money.

So if your group raises at least $4,000 and then beats everyone else in what they raised – you will win a bowling and pizza party for your entire group. The party is sure to be loads of fun and a great celebration of your achievement.

Can You Imagine Quitting School at 15

Can you imagine quitting school at 15 and not knowing what your future holds? It seemed like that was Kevin’s only path at the time, to quit school. He was failing in most of his classes and things weren’t any better at home. His mom was raising him and his two brothers. She was having problems paying the bills and they were losing their home. With all the instability in the house, it wasn’t easy for any of the kids to pull good grades. Zach, Kevin’s brother could only muster Ds and Fs and Bill, his other brother, could not get his homework completed and turned in without misplacing it.

Being on the brink of homelessness and then actually becoming a family who is homeless is extremely stressful to all involved. Family members go into survival mode and kids can’t even think about doing homework or getting decent grades. Everything is looked at in “short term” time frame. How will the family eat? Where will the family stay? Who will help them? Weeks turn into months and the family still suffers until the cycle of poverty is stopped. When the kids go for months worried about basic needs such as food and shelter, school work is no longer a priority. Also, most high school kids need a computer to complete their homework. If you are homeless, you don’t even have a library card so using the computers at the library is no longer an option. Everything becomes an extreme effort. Unfortunately, in the long run these months of falling behind in school will mean a lot of make up work to catch up or even failing a grade.

Luckily for Kevin and his family, they entered the Bridge Communities transitional housing program. About that same time, a new tutor, Gayle, was beginning to help out at Bridge. She was assigned to Kevin’s family and within days Gayle, her husband and 24 year-old daughter were all helping tutor Kevin and his brothers.

Four to five days a week you would find the six of them huddled over books and calculators after school in the Bridge Communities Westmont learning center—located in the same building where the family lived. In between, Gayle kept in close contact with the teen’s teachers at two schools through email, teacher conferences, and frequent conversations with their mother.

All three children raised their grades from Ds and Fs to As and Bs. Kevin, Zach, and Bill are feeling proud of themselves for what they have accomplished. Kevin admits “I want to study and earn the good grades so I can go to college.”

Thank God for people like Gayle and her family who became tutors to Kevin and his brothers. They were able to help the kids focus on what is important in their lives right now while Bridge Communities program helped their mom understand what she needs to do to get the family back into their own home.

Homelessness: What You Can Do: Activities for the entire family

Most Americans underestimate how the problem of homelessness affects families. About 600,000 families and 1.35 million children experience homelessness in the United States. Family homelessness is more widespread than many think, but it is not an unsolvable problem.

Across the country, hundreds of communities are planning to end homelessness, and a handful of communities and many local programs are making progress in ending family homelessness.

You are helping to end homelessness in DuPage County with your participation in Sleep Out Saturday. Thank you for your enthusiasm and dedication to ending this hidden epidemic in our communities.

We recently came across some great activities designed to help us learn a bit more about what it might be like to be a homeless child, teen or adult. And more importantly, what we can do to get involved. All of the information below is from the Natuial Alliance to End Homelessness website. We encourage you to visit the site to gain more insight to the hidden epidemic of family homelessness in our communities.

The Fact Sheets for Students are materials designed for school aged children to educate them about the causes and solutions to homelessness and provide opportunities for the young people to become a part of the solution.

Originally, the fact sheets were designed in 2000 during a partnership project between the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the Fannie Mae Foundation that sought to engage young people in the Washington, D.C. area in the fight to end homelessness. The Alliance updated the fact sheets in 2007 to reflect current statistics and strategies for ending homelessness.

· Kindergarten-Grade 2
· Grades 3-5
· Middle School
· High School


Homeless to Harvard 'Movie and Activities

In April 2003, Lifetime Television premiered the Lifetime Original Movie, Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. The movie, which is based on a true-life story, was accompanied by an educational campaign to increase awareness about the issues and solutions of homelessness and promote youth empowerment.

As part of this campaign, the National Alliance to End Homelessness and Girls Inc. partnered with Lifetime to develop the Homeless to Harvard educational toolkit. The toolkit, which includes fact sheets and activities to facilitate classroom discussion, has been distributed to high school educators and guidance counselors throughout the nation.

The Homeless to Harvard toolkit is available for download:

• Homeless to Harvard Worksheets
• Homeless to Harvard Teacher's Guide

Where do you go if you don’t have a Home?

Where do you go if you don’t have a home? Most people probably never have to ask themselves that question. But, sometimes a few poor choices start adding up and then the bottom falls out. That’s what happened to Carrie when she realized the man she married was not a good choice and was making her life miserable. When rent money ran out, she figured she could lean on a few friends and stay at their homes. She found out quickly that wasn’t really going to work and had no back-up plan. So, Carrie and her preschool daughter ended up staying in a cornfield that summer. This is her story in her own words:

“Everything was going pretty good until my ex-husband stole the only vehicle I had and also the only money I had for savings. I eventually got into College of DuPage and applied for grants and scholarships. I was told I’d have those grants and scholarships by the time rent came due. However, that didn’t happen…”

“I chose not to go through the eviction process so I thought well, it’s summertime, my daughter and I could camp out or stay at a couple of people’s houses and try to rotate, but that didn’t work out. I was lucky enough that someone gave me a tent and my daughter and I ended up going to various cornfields and slept there at night. I kept a pretty good schedule for us. We did eat and I had a job.”

“Unfortunately, by the time winter came around, I didn’t get my grant and scholarship money, so it started getting cold for us at night. I continued going to school. I would study in the tent by moonlight. I got good grades but my daughter ended up with a 107 degree temperature and we decided to just stay out here….”

Carrie found out about Bridge Communities and was able to get much-needed help. At Bridge, they help clients stop the cycle of poverty so when they leave the program, he or she has new skills for employment, for making sound decisions and for setting goals and a budget for the future.

Carrie’s daughter is now in first grade. When she came to the program, she needed special care and tutoring to catch up to other kids her age. She is now able to attend a typical elementary school.

Now that Carrie has been through the Bridge program, let’s hope and pray she never has to ask herself again, “Where do you go if you don’t have a home?”

Tips to guarantee fund-raising success:

- Promote your financial goal in your solicitations. If people know you are shooting for a stretch goal, they are more likely to help you with a stretch gift.

- Make a list of everyone you know. Think big and then, if you want, start to cut it down. But remember, you will be surprised at who will give if you only ask!

- Ask for persons to make a donation to your efforts in lieu of a holiday or birthday gift.

- Ask your parents to take the pledge form to their workplace. Write a small paragraph about your participation in Sleep Out and attached it to the pledge envelope.

- Take your pledge envelope around the neighborhood.

- Email your friends and family members with a request to donate. Sample letters can be found on the website. Add the link to our video that is posted on U-Tube and our website, in your email.

- In lieu of trick-or-treating for candy on Halloween; try to trick-or-treat for Sleep Out Saturday. Bring your pledge form and when they answer the door: “Trick-or-treat for Bridge Communities.” Where your Sleep Out Saturday t-shirt or hat.

- Do you attend a school with a dress code? Ask for a dress down day with a $2 donation to dress down. Add all the proceeds to your Sleep Out Saturday totals.

- Ask for persons to come over for a social gathering, show them the promotional video and ask them to contribute to your efforts.

- Look outside your church members/friends. They may already be supporting your transitional housing program.

- Send a follow-up letter/email after you Sleep Out. Add a picture of yourself with your yard sign and/or tent. Or if you don’t Sleep Out, add a picture of yourself at the Rally.

- Send a follow-up acknowledgement letter to everyone you asked – even if they did not contribute. Include how much you were able to raise and how it contributed to the pooled contributions from all our groups. Everyone will appreciate a follow-up and it will help increase your contributions for next year.

Remember that the process of trying to help and raise money is more important that the total amount raised. Don’t worry about the “Suggested Amount” and just have fun and try your best! Call Amy at (630) 545-0610, ext. 12 with any questions.

Can one Person Really Make a Difference for the Homeless?

The average age of a homeless person in DuPage County is eight. Of the 45,000 DuPage County residents living in poverty, 30% are under age five. While these facts are startling, there is good news: for just $25, you can provide a shelter night for a homeless child at Bridge Communities.

Here’s a true story to help explain:

Bridge Communities began in 1988. It started out with a dad whose kids were in high school and college and was asked by his church to volunteer one evening at the local PADS – that’s a temporary shelter for people to stay one night. When he got there, he was shocked to see how many kids were in need of a place to stay. Most of these children were under the age of 10 and were usually there with just their mom. When he returned back to his comfy home, he continued to be nagged by the fact that there were lots of children in DuPage County that had no place to live on a permanent basis. How could these kids learn in school, do homework, or just have fun and play when they were constantly being moved around each night?

So this dad decided to do something and asked a number of his friends at church to hear him out. This group committed to pitching in dollars to buy one apartment where they would begin to make a permanent home for at least one or two families out there. He thought, “I may not be able to help all of those families, but at least I can start by helping one or two.”

The project snowballed and today it’s called Bridge Communities. And that dad is Mark Milligan who is the President and co-founder of Bridge. Now Bridge is responsible for providing permanent housing for over 95 families per year. Not only does Bridge provide housing, they provide all the support services to teach these families how to turn their lives around. The parents go to school to get better paying jobs, learn how to budget, figure out where they went wrong and begin to make smarter choices. After two years, these families are back on their own and most of them have learned and worked hard to make a better life for themselves. It’s not easy. Many times single moms are going to school during the day, coming home to take care of their children, possibly working at night and then coming home late to study.

Thanks to great companies like Harris Bank and Icon Digital Design, they help with the cost of putting on a Sleep Out Saturday. Every “Sleep Out Saturday” sleeper that can raise $25 has brought one child in from the cold for one night. Just think if you asked five of your friends to sleep out with you and you each raised $100 in pledges, your small group of friends will have now brought in FOUR children for SIX nights! Small things add up. Every little bit counts. Just remember the snowflake that turned into the huge snowball!

Please decide to make a difference. Ask your friends to join you to raise some pledges for a great cause. Not only will you and your fiends have an awesome time, you will all sleep a little better at night knowing you helped someone else do the same!

How Do Families Become Homeless?

How does it happen? How does a family who is living in a home become a family without a place to live? Believe it or not, Bridge Communities receives approximately 880 phone calls each year from families in such a crisis.

Meet Justyn, now 18 and his brother Jordyn, 16. About ten years ago, their mom, Belinda, quit her job to take care of her parents and several members of her extended family who had become very ill. Within 18 months, she lost both of her parents, a sister, and three aunts. Soon after, she was diagnosed with diabetes and both Justyn and Jordyn were told they had heart disease. Both the boys had to be on heart medicine.

Left with a mountain of medical bills and other unpaid debt, the bank repossessed their car and they were evicted from their apartment. It was right after Christmas, and their mom felt tired and defeated.

“I felt like I failed everyone,” she said, “God, my children, my parents. I lost everything by not making good decisions.”

With two teenage boys, Belinda didn’t qualify to live in shelters because most of them felt they would be a threat to the young girls living there.

Jordyn’s grades began to slip. “It’s harder to make good grades in school because I couldn’t really concentrate on my schoolwork. I was thinking about everything that was going on in my life at the time.”

Justyn realized it was becoming real uncomfortable at school. “It got hard with school because you have friends and they want to come over and visit. It’s kind of hard to tell them “no” and to come up with something like saying…”I’m homeless.”

Justyn and Jordyn’s mom found out about Bridge Communities. Bridge helps families get back on their feet by providing transitional housing, mentoring, tutoring, financial support, and more.

Jordyn talked about how it feels. “Before we were in the Bridge program, life was kinda hard. We were bouncing around…we were living in a hotel or out of a car sometimes.”

Here’s the great news: As recent graduates of the Bridge program, Belinda, Jordyn and Justyn have been moving forward ever since. Today, their mom works full time and they live in a three bedroom home in Villa Park. Jordyn is doing great as a junior in high school. Last month, Justyn, a National Honor Society member, was one of only 68 freshmen to be accepted into the architectural program at the University of Illinois, Circle Campus in Chicago.

We asked Bridge what they found to be the patterns and/or obstacles that appear to be significant factors for people who become homeless; here’s their list of top reasons:

- High rate of domestic abuse
- Make bad relationship choices
- Bad credit, high debt
- Lack of budgeting skills
- Depression is a common theme
- Lower functioning – poor education, undiagnosed learning disabilities
- Lack of specific professional training or expertise
- Decision making is framed through a short term, “survival” type of lens
- Lack of understanding of long term consequences or effects from this kind of decision making. Inability to think/plan long term

Just think how Sleep Out Saturday could help other families like Justyn and Jordyn’s. Thanks for listening.

Top 10 Reasons to Sleep Out Saturday, November 3rd, 2007

Just like David Letterman, we’ve created the Top 10 Reasons for Sleeping Out on Saturday, November 3, 2007:

10. It’s the best excuse you will ever have for a slumber party outside!
9. You and your friends can find ways to stay warm and cozy on a November night while getting a “taste” of what it means to be homeless.
8. You get to check out Matt Wilhelm, the very cool 3-time BMX bike X-game medalist, perform on his bike at the rally.
7. You will realize that there are too many kids that do not have a place to call home.
6. When your group raises $4,000 or more, your group is treated to a party at the new really cool Lucky Strikes Lanes in Lombard!
5. You can help stamp out the fact that the average age of a person who is homeless in DuPage County is eight years old.
4. You will cherish your own home even more after the Sleep Out.
3. You will have a better appreciation for what it means to be homeless and you will say to yourself “Nobody should be in a situation where they have no place to live!”
2. You will feel great about raising money to fight homelessness.

AND THE #1 REASON to SLEEP OUT ...
Because YOU can make a difference!! And that’s the greatest feeling on earth!

Welcome to Sleep Out on Saturday, November 3rd, 2007

Welcome to the 2007 SOS Blog – where you and your friends can make a difference in the fight against homelessness in DuPage County. Each Thursday, we will update you on the latest plans for Sleep Out Saturday Night being held on November 3, 2007, in downtown Glen Ellyn, in the parking lot adjacent to Bridge Communities at 505 Crescent Blvd.

Be sure to pass this site onto your friends.

SOS 2006 Stats

700+ people attended the Rally

1000+ people slept out

$68,323 in pledges raised (and growing!) That’s 2,732 shelter nights for homeless families in DuPage!

Our top fundraising groups to date:
- St. John the Baptist (Winfield): $3890.90
- Lisle Teens with Character: $3852
- St. Margaret Mary Parish (Naperville): $3514.55
- St. Thomas the Apostle (Naperville) $3000

If you couldn't make it to the rally (or even if you could), check out the rally video

Thanks again to everyone who participated! See you in 2007!