Dozens of

students

sleep in

cardboard

boxes

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- Several dozen St. Mary's and Sleepy Eye High School students spent Saturday night under blankets in cardboard boxes for a cause larger than themselves.

Cindee Schewe's peace and non-violence class at St. Mary's hosted the community-wide benefit. It was designed to bring awareness to the plight of the homeless and collect blankets and financial donations for the needy.

The event began at 9 p.m. Saturday when students brought blankets, pillows and cardboard boxes in preparation for their night outside. The homeless campsite was near the school football concession area, next to the St. Mary's High School.

Liz Kuoppala, policy advocate for the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless in Minneapolis, spoke to students and adult chaperones at 10 p.m.

State funding cuts caused the recent closing of a 20-bed homeless youth shelter in Minneapolis, Kuoppala said. Transition housing programs in Duluth, Bemidji and Fargo-Moorhead also suffered cuts. The Duluth program was completely shut down, she added.

"Unless or until the government shifts priorities, we'll see more program cuts, which means more problems for the homeless," Kuoppala said.

As students gathered around the warmth of several fire pits and prepared to sleep in the cardboard boxes, the Rev. Brian Oestreich of St. Mary's Church in Sleepy Eye spoke to them.

The temperature would be about 40 degrees, but no rain would fall during their real-life lesson about empathy for the homeless.

"Envision a street child, remember their face and say a prayer for them," Oestreich said. "Tonight, you'll walk a mile in their shoes. Pray for all the kids on the street. Let's hope and pray your donations will help end the cycle of poverty for somebody."

During his college studies at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., Oestreich worked six days a week in an Omaha soup kitchen.

"I got my degree at Creighton and my education at the soup kitchen," Oestreich said. "It was incredible. Every day was an adventure."

Oestreich talked about a boy he met at the soup kitchen who had full-blown AIDS.

"I know he's dead now, but I know the boy is in the right place because he was pure with the Lord," Oestreich said.

Schewe talked about the importance of the experience for the students.

"It's important to teach students things like this," Schewe said. "These things are important things to know so these students can be full community members."

St. Mary's students Laura Botz, Katherine Berkner and Brittany Braun shared a several interconnected cardboard boxes.

"We're making a difference," Braun said.

"I'm cold, but I'm glad the whole community is invited to do this with us," Botz said.

"It's an eye-opener," said Berkner.

St. Mary's students Andrew Joyce and Rob Henjum set up their boxes nearby.

Sleepy Eye High School girls Cassie Jarvis and Katherina Busch tried to sleep in nearby boxes. They got a little sleep but woke up when the cold began bothering them. The girls went home at about 6 a.m. Sunday.

Sleepy Eye City Manager Mark Kober, who also serves as a deacon at St. Mary's, said he noticed many homeless people sleeping under park benches and vegetation while at a recent convention of city managers in Los Angeles.

"Sometimes people are only a few paychecks away from being homeless," Kober said. "Many times, the homeless were living very close to the very wealthy.

Donated blankets were piled high in a corner of the St. Mary's concession stand area Sunday morning as the students folded up their boxes and returned to their warm homes.

Recent statistics released by the Wilder Research Center in St. Paul show one in four Minnesota homeless people have full-time jobs but can't afford shelter due to the skyrocketing cost and scarcity of rental housing.