Students Brave the Cold to Raise Awareness of L.I.‘s Homelessness

September 24, 2009

PATCHOGUE, NY SEPTEMBER 25, 2009 Students, alumni, faculty and staff at St. Josephs College are braving the cold temperatures another year by staging an overnight sleep-out to help raise awareness of homelessness on Saturday, October 10, 2009 from 7:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. on the Colleges Quad located on its Long Island Campus in Patchogue.

A past tradition of the College, which first began in 1991, the Habitat for Humanity Club revived the event in 2006 by organizing student groups to team up and raise funds, as well as help increase awareness of homelessness and the poverty that exists around us.  Proceeds from this years event will be donated to the organization, Habitat for Humanity, and will help fund the Clubs alternative spring break trip building houses.

"We hope to raise even more money this year than ever before, said Habitat for Humanity Vice President, Jenessa Donovan. "It promises to be a great night with friends and a great night to reflect on how fortunate we are compared to others who need our help.

According to the Nassau-Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless (NSCH), homelessness on Long Island is on the rise; thousands of homeless persons are living on Long Island, with two-thirds as members of families and half as children. The NSCH also reports that approximately three-quarters of Long Islands homeless are hidden, because they are doubled and tripled up with relatives and friends, moving from one emergency situation to the next, and one-quarter live on the street in abandoned cars, vacant buildings or dangerous housing.