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Jeremy Pendergraft, director of Grace Campus Ministries, stands alone in the 'homeless' camp along Campus Walk
Rob Hodous carries an armful of cardboard to be transformed into shelters during a UMW campus homelessness sleep-out.
UMW students and organizers of the sleep-out |
By NATASHA ALTAMIRANO
More a dozen people huddled together around damp cardboard-box shelters Tuesday night as temperatures dipped into the low 40s.
Passers-by stared. Some avoided eye contact and steered clear of the makeshift homes. But others found it hard to avoid them.
The group was, after all, gathered on one of the main thoroughfares on the University of Mary Washington campus.
About 16 university students and Fredericksburg-area residents held a sleep-out in front of the university's Lee Hall Tuesday night to Wednesday morning to raise awareness about local homelessness.
It's a problem despite a new, larger regional shelter with programs to transition people into houses and apartments--the Thurman Brisben Center--and an emergency cold-night shelter in the city.
The Fredericksburg area has 404 homeless people, according to a January count that was part of a statewide survey.
"The plan is to enter into solidarity with the homeless and the way they do things," said Grace Campus Ministries Director Jeremy Pendergraft, one of the event's organizers.
The ministry, Grace Church of Fredericksburg's university outreach, and two other Christian groups organized the sleep-out and a homelessness forum Wednesday night in the university's Great Hall.
Besides raising awareness, the goal is to help find solutions, Pendergraft said.
"It was eye-opening," he said yesterday of his experience sleeping outside.
Pendergraft began setting up around noon Tuesday, despite chilly temperatures and drizzle.
"There's homeless people in the city who have to go through this, so it'll make it all the more real what they have to go through," Pendergraft said, bundled in a raincoat and several layers of clothing.
The weather wasn't the sleep-out's only hardship. Organizers found that large boxes aren't easy to find.
"Every step of this I want to be as true to life as possible, so if it's a pain in the butt to get boxes, it's a pain in the butt to get boxes," said Rob Hodous, director of InterVarsity, an interdenominational Christian fellowship with branches at colleges and universities nationwide.
A passing student offered to buy Pendergraft--the only demonstrator at the time--a hot drink around 6:15 Tuesday night. UMW student Ashley Lippolis said she had seen Pendergraft earlier and felt bad for him.
Pendergraft took only a cup of hot water, since he was fasting during the sleep-out.
By 10 p.m., several people had joined him.
UMW freshman Chris Faciane decided to participate. "I just walked by and it seemed really powerful," he said.
Some Grace Church parishioners who knew about the sleep-out also showed up.
Germanna Community College student Randy Martinez helped build shelters out of boxes, duct tape and newspapers. Martinez said he planned to stay until the morning, while others came out for a few hours.
UMW senior Mary Beth Loy said she planned to stay as long as she could stand the cold.
"I'm doing it to gain a better understanding of what real people have to do," Loy said. "My dorm is right there--I take it for granted that I can walk right in."
UMW junior Alison Carter said she was participating for similar reasons: "So I can appreciate the warm bed I have; the future I have."
Wednesday's forum drew about 50 people and was moderated by the Rev. Pat Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, a Washington-based national ministry that promotes social justice through political and community outreach.
Panelists included Teri Buck, director of Grace Church's Mercy Ministries outreach program, Samantha Blackburn, a UMW junior who works with homeless people through a student volunteer organization, and Thurman Brisben Center Director Bunny Melzer.
Mahoney, a Spotsylvania County resident and member of Grace Church, said the forum attempted to debunk stereotypes about the homeless and discuss student volunteer opportunities.
Students signed up to feed the homeless through Fredericksburg's New Generation Church, whose congregation includes homeless people, or Mercy Ministries.
"Our main goal is to challenge the students to realize that an education is not just about getting a diploma and getting a job and furthering their personal career, but we also have a community responsibility," Mahoney said.
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