Hundreds camp out to aid homeless
Union-Tribne
April 29, 2007
DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – When Elizabeth Niemas wakes up to celebrate her birthday today, she'll be huddled in a sleeping bag to ward off the morning chill.
Along with her husband and 6-year-old daughter, Niemas will get up with hundreds of strangers who camped out on cots downtown at the Community Concourse as part of “Sleepless in San Diego,” a fundraiser for the San Diego Rescue Mission's homeless programs.
“In my country, we really don't have anything like this,” said Niemas, a Philippines native. “It's a good feeling.”
CEO Herb Johnson said the rescue mission accepts no government funds. Since its inception in 1955, it has relied primarily on mail solicitations and corporate donations.
Inspired by a man from suburban Minneapolis who braves subzero cold to camp out for the homeless each January, the mission's leaders decided to try a fundraiser that would give participants a taste of what the city's estimated 10,000 homeless endure. “We wanted to do something that would make a statement about homelessness,” Johnson said.
The mission solicited 200 churches and dozens more schools and colleges. Johnson expected all 500 cots in the concourse's outdoor plaza to be filled with volunteers who raised at least $40 each to sleep there. Live music was planned, along with food and a movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness,” about a man who pulled himself out of homelessness. Counting corporate contributions, Johnson expected to raise $200,000.
Volunteers from the East Valley Christian Fellowship in El Cajon filled 36 of the cots.
Jason and Michelle Zullo represented the Most Excellent Way, a church program that helps people recover from drug and alcohol abuse. They took their children to learn about serving others.
“We want to teach them when they're young,” said Jason Zullo, 36. “They not only get to see what it's like to sleep outside, but to sleep outside and help someone.”
Chris Moreno, 33, of Cardiff teaches a geography class at San Diego State University that focuses on current events and community involvement. He and his wife, Sara, turned out with three of his students after one suggested it in class.
“I'm curious about what the students' lives are all about,” Moreno said. “You can get more involved by being embedded in the community with events like this.”