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Feb 28, 2013 | Luke Blount

St. Andrew's Youth Become Homeless for the Night

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When the youth at St. Andrew’s, Pearland, say they know what it’s like to be homeless, they mean it. Last weekend, 125 kids spent the night outside, sleeping in cardboard boxes in order to raise awareness of homelessness and raise money for Family Promise of Clear Creek, a ministry for homeless families supported by 15 local churches.

 

The annual event called “Cardboard Box City” gathers youth at the church, where they spend the night outside. 10 different groups participated including a local Boy Scout troop and the Honor Society. Each student gains sponsors for the night and donates the money to Family Promise. This year, St. Andrew’s raised more than $7,000.

 

During the event, the youth learn about the struggles that homeless families face. A Family Promise resident came to the event this year and read the story of another Family Promise homeless family. The students had a soup-kitchen style dinner and packed bags to hand out to the real homeless before beginning their night outside. In the morning, they were given a paper bag breakfast.

 

“It's an amazing thing to see these kids give up their Saturday night for something like this,” said St. Andrew’s Associate, Debbie Allensworth. “And this year, it was cold and damp. The kids got a really good understanding of what it is like to be homeless.”