Thank you Sponsors
"Hidden Homeless"
What does this mean?
Family homelessness is an invisible epidemic because of the shame associated with it. Often termed the "hidden homeless", homeless families, primarily comprising of women and children, tend to avoid public glare due to safety concerns. Generally, when one visualizes homelessness, the picture of a child with her family doesn't come to mind.
Children who experience homelessness are...
3x more likely to drop out of school
4x more likely to misuse prescription pain medicine
7x more likely to attempt suicide
compared to their housed peers. Without intervention and support, many will grow up to become homeless as adults, repeating the cycle for generations.
What Can I do?
Use your voice for the silenced
Start your Night without a Bed experience by RSVPing to the Event where you will gain a deeper understanding of what it is like for families in our community to experience homelessness.
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​Our hope is that through this experience you are better able to relate to these families and thus, are empowered to create a solution to end family homelessness in our city. Ultimately, through an engaged, educated community, no child will have to experience homelessness in the years to come.
Forego the comfort of your bed for one night.
Post about it on social media using #NightWithoutaBed
Ask your friends, family, and followers to sponsor you with a donation to Family Promise GWC
What should I say?
Not sure what to write in your social media post? Try this:
Tonight I'm participating in #NightWithoutaBed to raise awareness for the 1 in 19 children who are experiencing homelessness in America tonight. Consider sponsoring me with a donation to Family Promise of Greater Washington County to help end family homelessness: www.familypromiseGWC.org/nightwithoutabed