...for Reggie & thousands of other homeless youth in Iowa! If they can do it each night...I can do it for one.
That's what I'll be doing tonight with a team I created 2 years ago - the SIMPSON STORM SLEEPERS. The event is called "Reggie's Sleepout" & it's held at another college's football stadium in Des Moines overnight; sponsored by the Youth Emergency Shelters...right now over 1,000 people are signed up overall - 47 for OUR TEAM! We are also only $35 from our goal of $500. The KiNDNESS within the SIMPSON community has been wonderful with several donating their evening or their money for this national crisis. It warms my heart. :)
I will share photos & stories of the night next week, but I wanted to dedicate this blog to the young man the Sleepout was named for. Here is his story:
Reggie Kelsey was a young man who aged out of the foster care system in 2001, and within three and a half months, died in the Des Moines River.
Reggie had an endearing personality, but functioned at a third grade level and suffered from hallucinations and depression. He worried about how he would survive on his own. After being kicked out of his latest foster care placement, Reggie bounced from one shelter to another, and occasionally camped outside while working with Iowa Homeless Youth Centers' street outreach staff and others to try to qualify for federal disability payments.
As a result of Reggie's death, Youth & Shelter Services, Inc. (IHYC's parent organization) led the effort to develop the Iowa Aftercare Services Network to provide services to those aging out of foster care. The program has now been expanded to include a monthly stipend and additional services and is referred to as the PAL (Preparation for Adult Living) program.
Reggie's Place Coffee Shop and now Reggie's Sleep Out were named in honor of Reggie and our commitment to prevent another like tragedy.
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