2nd Annual First Coast Sleep Out Challenge brings awareness to homelessness in St. Johns County

St. Augustine, Fla. – More than 300 radical successful St Johns County are struggling with homelessness.

It tin beryllium hard to ideate what it is similar to beryllium successful their shoes, which is wherefore for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a row, a radical of radical is camping retired to rise awareness.

10 radical volition look the situation Friday nighttime into Saturday greeting connected the field of Alpha-Omega Mircale Home connected Collins Avenue successful St. Augustine.

They volition person conscionable a cardboard box, a tarp, and a flashlight arsenic they slumber successful a field.

Alpha-Omega Mircale Home is helping Paige Madancy and her children, who cognize what it is similar to not person a home.

The First Coast Sleep Out Challenge is conscionable for 1 night, but it was a world for Madancy.

“It was scary not knowing what was going to hap next,” she said.

Madancy experienced homelessness plentifulness of times passim her beingness arsenic a kid with her mother. She besides bounced astir to much than 3 twelve foster homes.

But she says the worst was a small much than a twelvemonth ago.

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Madancy and her kids, the youngest not adjacent a twelvemonth aged astatine the time, were stateless for astir 2 weeks aft she near an abusive relationship.

“It’s scary to deliberation astir falling dormant and idiosyncratic taking the small spot near that you have,” Madancy said. To person idiosyncratic travel to you and accidental ‘Hey, we’re taking your kids.’ That was what brought it each unneurotic to me.”

Paige and her 3 children managed to onshore astatine Alpha-Omega Miracle Home.

The enactment has been lodging stateless women, their children, and elder women for much than 20 years.

The Sleep Out situation raises wealth to grow the programme and instrumentality successful much people.

St. Johns County sheriff Robert Hardwick did not hesitate to motion up for the lawsuit for the 2nd consecutive year. He says it is humbling.

“It brought thing existent to you,” helium said. “It made maine deliberation that we kick astir the tiny things. Whether it beryllium postulation oregon your car, forgetting to get state today. Then you deliberation of these women and what they person gone done successful life.

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Sheriff Hardwick and Madancy’s paths crossed astatine past year’s lawsuit erstwhile Paige elaborate her travel done homelessness.

Hardwick offered Madancy a occupation with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office’s Risk Management part soon aft meeting.

Hardwick says formally documenting the fig of stateless radical successful the region tin beryllium difficult. But helium says determination are adjacent to 1,000 stateless radical nether 18 years aged successful St. Johns County.

The First Coast Sleep Out situation is simply a one-night adjacent helium hopes leads to helping arsenic galore radical arsenic possible.

“If we tin treble that oregon triple it, and amended ourselves and not crook that unsighted eye,” Hardwick says.

The 10 radical participating successful the situation person a extremity to rise $100,000.

That wealth would spell toward gathering different helping astatine Alpha-Omega Mircale Home truthful it tin location 100 much women and children.

To donate you tin sponsor 1 of the idiosyncratic “Sleeping Out” by visiting their website.

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