There’s still time to register for the sixth-annual Greater Macon Sleepout at Daybreak
It’s not too late to register for the sixth-annual Greater Macon Sleepout.
The overnight event raises funds for Daybreak, a resource center that provides a range of services to Macon’s homeless residents each weekday. Beyond raising money, the Sleepout also raises awareness about an issue often pushed to the periphery.
Daybreak provides a respite from the outdoors during daylight hours. But when the sun sets, the small haven for the homeless closes its doors, and many of its visitors curl up somewhere outside until the center reopens the next morning.
Those who camp out for the annual fundraiser get a small taste of what Bibb County’s nearly 200 unsheltered homeless residents experience each night.
“Not that you can really experience homelessness, but you can sort of sleep in solidarity with the people who are homeless and experience, at least for one night, what it’s like,” said Kay Gerhardt, who participates in the Sleepout every year.
Participants are expected to raise at least $1,000 in donations from friends and relatives. Corporate sponsors also contribute thousands of dollars to the annual campaign. Daybreak has already received more than $102,000 in donations so far for this year’s event and hopes to meet its $140,000 goal by the event on Feb. 28.
“It’s sort of counterintuitive,” Gerhardt said. “But people actually pay money for the privilege of sleeping out.”
The Sleepout begins at 6 p.m. with a light supper and a short opening program. After that, the evening is completely unstructured. Some retire early to their tents, while others gather around campfires to sing songs and tell scary stories.
“It’s a good way to meet different people,” said Scotty Nelson, a volunteer at Daybreak who will sleep out for his fourth time this February.
As participants roast marshmallows and share stories, they build bonds that often last beyond the one-night event, he said.
“People from different areas and different walks of life can get together and all have something in common,” Nelson said.
Sleeping outside puts homelessness into perspective, Gerhardt said.
“There’s a chance for them to actually talk to homeless people and see them as human beings, not just as a statistic, and also just to share that experience of what it’s like not to have a bed to sleep in,” she said.
Daybreak volunteer Marlene Humphry has heard many stories from the clients she serves at the center’s cafe every Friday. Many of them feel like family, she said.
Those who regularly volunteer at Daybreak know how important of a resource it is for those experiencing homelessness, Humphry said. She hopes participants in the Sleepout will walk away with a bit more appreciation for Daybreak’s contributions to the community. The event reminds Humphry to be grateful, she said.
“One night sleeping out in the elements is not the same as having to do it regularly,” Humphry said. “It makes me a little bit more appreciative of what I do have, that I can go home and take a hot shower and crawl into a warm bed if I want to. And everybody doesn’t have that opportunity and privilege.”
The Sleepout also brings together community partners who serve Macon’s homeless population outside of Daybreak, like Coliseum Health System.
Several psychiatry residents from the hospital will be sleeping out this year, along with Coliseum Medical Centers CEO Stephen Daugherty. The hospital often treats homeless patients in its emergency room, but the Sleepout provides an opportunity to support a center that will help to keep them healthy once they leave, Daugherty said.
“While we can take care of an emergent need and kinda get ‘em back together, ultimately, we’re discharging them right back to the environment that created that. And that is back into homelessness,” he said.
Daybreak Director Sister Theresa Sullivan is working hard to cover the gap in medical care those experiencing homelessness often face, Daugherty said.
As a nonprofit organization, Daybreak relies on donations to operate. The center provides showers, telephone and computer access, laundry, medical services, and case management to about 100 daily visitors, Monday through Friday.
The Greater Macon Sleepout allows Daybreak to offer those resources to its clients day after day.
But it’s about more than just the money, Humphry said. Volunteering with Daybreak makes her feel more connected to her community.
“I’m doing this because it’s important,” she said. “Being Jewish, we have a philosophy called Tikkun Olam, which means to repair the world. And this is just my way of helping.”
If you would like to participate in the Sleepout, you can register or donate at https://give.depaulusa.org/event/daybreak-sleepout-2019/e196813. The event runs from 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28 to 6 a.m. on Friday, March 1.
Samantha Max is a Report for America corps member and reports for The Telegraph with support from the News/CoLab at Arizona State University. Follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/smax1996 and on Twitter @samanthaellimax. You can also join her Facebook group. Learn more about Report for America at www.reportforamerica.org.
