Community Corner

AU Sleep Out to Raise Awareness, Empathy for Homeless

During the inaugural Sleep Out, about 200 Aurora University students and employees will take donations of food and clothing to the Hesed House homeless shelter, and sleep outdoors overnight on the campus quadrangle.

Update: The march to Hesed House has been canceled due to lack of parade permit. Speakers from Hesed will now come to Aurora University's banquet hall to give their presentation. The rest of the event, including the sleep-out, will be the same.

On Friday night, Aurora University student Andy Patton will exchange his warm bed for a cold slab of pavement while participating in the university’s inaugural Sleep Out on the Quad.

But he doesn’t consider himself a hero. Instead, Patton, of Oswego, is hoping the Sleep Out, meant to raise awareness about homelessness and gain empathy for those struggling with it, will humble him.

“I think this event will be eye-opening for lots of students because before we go to sleep, we will be in rotating sessions to learn about homelessness and homeless people,” Patton said. “And if that information does not get our attention, then hopefully the conditions of sleeping outside in the cold will.”

About 200 Aurora University students and employees will march to the Hesed House homeless shelter with donations of food and clothing, and sleep outdoors overnight on the campus quadrangle.

“For a number of us, our next meal and where we are going to sleep is taken for granted because we have been blessed enough to not have had to face those anxieties,” said fellow participant and Aurora University student Lauren Lawson, also of Oswego.

She said citizens can only go so far to help a situation if they lack experience in the struggle.

“Initiatives like this are undoubtedly something that helps magnify the reality that others face and provides us with a greater appreciation for what we do have,” Lawson said. “Especially in our society that is often centered on material wealth, it is helpful for us to take a step back and realize that no matter how difficult our lives may seem, there are others who do not even have basic necessities. We can then see how fortunate we really are.”

Initially, Kristin Johnson, Aurora University director of student leadership and one coordinator of the Sleep Out, had hoped to get 100 students to participate in the event to coincide with the school’s 100th anniversary.

“We’ve far exceeded that,” she said.

To date, almost 200 students have registered.

She hopes the issue of homelessness will hit home with the students.

“The goal is to raise awareness of homelessness and who is homeless,” Johnson said. “Often times, especially in this economy, some of us are not that far from needing help ourselves.”

Lawson said as a participant she will only know a fraction of what people in those circumstances truly feel.

“But it will be a fraction closer than anyone else,” she said. “Most of our life lessons come to us as a challenge to adopt a new perspective, and this is no different. I can only hope that this experience impacts our beyond our students and through our community to develop us into more responsible and altruistic individuals.”

Campus sponsoring organizations are The Wackerlin Center's Office for Community Engagement and Service, the Social Work Association and the Leadership Education And Development Program.

The event is not open to the public.


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