On December 3, 2010, an estimated 200 hearty, compassionate souls will gather for the second Annual Night in a Box event and spend the night in the cold to draw awareness to the growing number of homeless families and individuals in Denver. According to Encompass Executive Director, Michael McQueen, "If you spend any significant time in Denver, you will see the homeless on the streets. But, there is another group of people who don't have a home - and you are not likely to see on a street corner; the growing number of single moms and fatherless kids who are without a stable home in our city".
Statistics from the Piton Foundation indicate there are more than 10,000 single moms within the zip codes served by Encompass Ministries in the Clayton, Cole, Elyria, Five Points, Globeville, North Park Hill, Northeast Park Hill, Skyland, Swansea, and Whittier neighborhoods who struggle to provide consistent shelter for themselves and their children. This population is known as the "hidden homeless", families that currently have four walls and a roof - but are consistently in transition and living a life of survival.
The goals for Night in a Box are:
1) to provoke an interest and bring an understanding to participants about the struggles of the hidden homeless,
2) to create a desire within participants to be a part of change in their community and
3) to raise funds for Encompass Ministries to provide transition and support services to widows, single moms and fatherless children.
Participants of all ages are welcome to join in the event as sleepers or sponsors and should contact Steve Hall at shall@encompassdenver.org or 303.995.8427 to register as an event participant.
Event Details
Location: Corner of Larimer and Park Avenue
Date: December 3rd
Time: Check-in starts at 6:00 p.m., Programming begins at 7:00 p.m.
To learn more about Encompass or Night in a Box, visit www.encompassdenver.org and
www.nightinabox.com
