A homeless experience

 

SAINT AUGUSTINE – Saturday, Nov. 11, members of the St. Augustine Young Professionals participated in the first annual Sleep Out to Raise Awareness of Homeless Youth. The event was held at Port in the Storm Homeless Youth Center.

“We live in such a wonderful community and I was shocked to learn about the large number of youth that are homeless in St. Johns County,” commented Eric Cable of The Young Professionals. “The Sleep Out at Port in the Storm Homeless Youth Shelter was a great way to bring light to an issue that is often kept in the shadows. In addition, it showcased the great opportunities the shelter provides to teens and the positive impact it makes on the community.”

 

After touring the new youth center, the group watched a movie called, “Sugar”, the story of a teen whose family is killed in a car crash. That accident led to her homelessness and her exposure to the many hazards awaiting a young person on the street.

 

Amy Gibson is part of the Youth Street Outreach team for St. Francis Housing Crisis Center. She described sleeping outside the shelter as scary. “I had to sleep with one eye open because people were walking by us during the night. We had no bug spray and soon the mosquitos had us. We had no more than two hours of sleep.”

To learn more about Port in the Storm Youth Center, call 904-824-8987 x2012. You may also come to the Dece. 7 Lunch ‘n’ Learn at 1 p.m. Reserve your seat by contacting 904-824-8987 x 2005.