What is SleepIn?

Sleep In is for those neighbors and friends that can’t join us at the SleepOut site, but want to join in support and in the spirit of helping our most vulnerable neighbors.  SleepIn at your own home, spending the night focusing on the issue of  homelessness and raising funds to help The Lord’s Place.

 

• To register for SleepIn click on the “Register Individual, Create or Join a team here!” button.  Fill out the information and when you get to the step that asks you how you will be participating, click “I will be sleeping in!”

 

• Those Sleeping IN are asked to make a donation in the amount of one hotel night stay.  Motel level: $50; Hotel level: $100; Suite level: $500; and Penthouse level: $1000.

 

• Those Sleeping IN are asked to post a photo or video on Instagram and Twitter of their SleepIn in their home or backyard with the hashtags #SleepOut2018 #TLPSleepOut #TLPSleepIn and are asked to challenge their friends, families, co-workers and neighbors to do the same.  This way, everyone can participate whether they SleepOut or SleepIn!

Information and activities to share with your family or group

Following are materials to help members of your family or group learn more about homelessness and how your participation in SleepIN is helping The Lord’s Place break the cycle of homelessness in our community.  The discussion points, activities and resources are divided into age appropriate sections to share with various age levels within your family or group.

 

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Ages 7 and under

Discussion Points

• It is important to care about those in our family
• It is important to care about others in our community
• Discuss the importance of families being together and showing that you care about each other
• Others live in different circumstances than our family lives.
• It is important to respect people who are like us as well as people who are different than us.
• All people need to feel love and need a place to live and food to eat.

 

Activities

• Build a “home” for the night such as a tent made out of blankets or house made out of cardboard boxes.
• Discuss how it feels to sleep in a house that is different from your normal home
• But how the most important thing is that you are together and that you care about each other.
• Read together as a family one or more of the recommended books and discuss.
• Sleep together as a family in your “different” home for the night.
• Post photos of your SleepIn on social media #SleepOutWithUs, and make a donation on our site (Donate) and shout out to your friends to do their own SleepIn event.

 

Resources

Books

“The Berenstein Bears Help the Homeless” by Jan Berenstain 2012.  Ages 4-7 years. The spooky, old house on Spook Hill would make the perfect homeless shelter for Bear Country. The Good Deed Scouts and Old Tom better get busy with repairs!

“Shoebox Sam” by Mary Brigid Barrett  2011. Grades 1–4.  Delia and Jessie spend Saturdays with Shoebox Sam, who teaches them about making old shoes new again and helping those in need.

“The Lunch Thief” by Anne C. Bromley 2010. Grades 1-4. Rafael notices the new kid stealing lunches (including his), and uses his mom’s advice to use his voice & not his fists to resolve the problem.

“December” by Eve Bunting 1997. Grades 1–4. Simon and his mom live in the tiny cardboard house they’ve built for themselves. On Christmas Eve they don’t have much, but it’s more than the woman who comes knocking on their door has. Does their generosity bring them a miracle?

“Fly Away Home” by Eve Bunting 1991. Grades PreK–3. A young boy talks about his and his father’s lives living in an airport and has hope for himself when he sees a trapped bird find freedom.

“A Shelter in Our Care” by Monica Gunning 2004. Grades K–3. Since moving to America from Jamaica after her father died, Zettie and her mom live in their car while they both go to school and plan for a real home.

“Sélavi: That is Life: A Haitian Story of Hope” by Youme Landowne 2005. Grades 1–4. Haitian street children band together and work to create a life for themselves.

“The Lady in the Box” by Ann McGovern 1997. Grades K–4. When two siblings discover a homeless woman living in their neighborhood, they discover how easy it can be to make a difference in someone’s life.

“I Can Hear the Sun” by Patricia Polacco1999. Grades 2–5. A boy without a real home, Fondo feels lonely and unwanted. Then he meets Stephanie Michele, who takes care of the waterfowl at the pond and shares his sensitivity for nature. She teaches him how to help take care of the geese, especially one with special needs. When Fondo finds out he’s to be taken away, he looks to the geese for a miracle.

“The Can Man” by Laura E. Williams2010. Grades 2–5. Tim’s family doesn’t have a lot of money, but he really wants a skateboard for his birthday. When he sees Mr. Peters, “The Can Man,” who is homeless, collecting cans, Tim gets the idea to collect enough cans to pay for his skateboard, even though that means Mr. Peters gets less … it’s only until Tim’s birthday, after all. Tim really wants that skateboard, but a couple of encounters with Mr. Peters give him pause about what to do with the money he’s earned.

“A Home for Dakota” by Jan Grover and Nancy Lane 2008. Grades 1–3. Dog #241 lives in a dark crate on a puppy mill, until she is rescued and learns to trust humans again.  When the puppy (now named Dakota) meets a young girl who has been as traumatized as she, healing begins for both of them.

“Mutt Dog” by Stephen Michael King 2005. Grades PreK–2. Mutt Dog is brave and fast and gentle and loyal and smart, but he’s also hungry, and he doesn’t have a home. Then one day his luck changes, and he at last finds a family–and a cozy, loving place to belong.

“Two Bobbies:  A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship and Survival” by Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery 2008. Grades K–3. A dog and a blind cat abandoned during Hurricane Katrina evacuations manage to find each other and stick together until they realize a happy ending.

“Go Home! The True Story of James the Cat” by Libby Phillips Meggs 2000. Grades K–3. Cat has been lost for a long time. His collar has grown too tight, and he’s always hungry and thirsty. One day he finds a house with a kind family, but they think because he has a collar, he has a home. It’s not until he’s badly injured that the family realizes just how much the cat needs them.

“The Stray Dog” by Marc Simont 2003. Grades PreK–3. A family picnicking in the park encounters a little stray dog. The children play with him and name him Willy. But the parents won’t let Willy come home with them. Willy stays in their hearts and heads, so the next week they go looking for him … but so does the dog catcher.

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Ages 8-12

Discussion Points

• It is important to care about those in our family
• It is important to care about others in our community
• Our family is fortunate to have a home where we can live in comfort
• Not all families have a home to live in
• All families need a place to call their own
• Why is it important to have a place to call home?
• How would you feel if you didn’t have a home?
• By Sleeping IN tonight, your family is helping The Lord’s Place help other families who don’t have a home.
• Children can do important things to help the homeless, including
  • showing respect to everyone;
  • plan and hold your own fundraiser like a lemonade stand or a garage sale and donate the money you make to The Lord’s Place to help the homeless.
  • Save up part of your allowance and donate it to The Lord’s Place to help homeless families.
  • Participate with your school or neighborhood or religious group in an activity that helps the children at The Lord’s Place Family Campus. Call 561-494-0125 to volunteer.

 

Activities:

• Decide as a family where you will SleepIn – in your living room, in the backyard, in a tent, in a “homemade home” of blankets or boxes.
• Read a portion of one or more of the recommended books together and discuss
• Watch one or more of the movies together and discuss how it made you feel and how you think not having a home affects children and their parents. Does being homeless make it difficult to go to school and get your homework and projects completed? Do children who are homeless have access to the same technology and play and learning opportunities that you have? How might this affect their outlook on life and how they see their future.
• Post photos of your SleepIn onsocial media #SleepOutWithUs, and make a donation on our site (Donate) and shout out to your friends to do their own SleepIn event.
• What can you do as a young person and as a family to help the homeless?
  • show respect to everyone;
  • take a tour of The Lord’s Place Family Campus to see how homeless families are helped to get back on their feet.
  • plan and hold your own fundraiser like a car wash, walkathon or a garage sale and donate the money you make to The Lord’s Place to help the homeless.
  • Participate with your school or neighborhood or religious group in an activity that helps the children at The Lord’s Place Family Campus.   

 

Resources: 

Movies

•  Up
•  The Little Red Wagon
•  Pursuit of Happyness
•  Blind Side

Books

A kids’ guide to hunger and homelessness: how to take action by Cathryn Berger Kaye.

Almost Home by Joan Bauer. 2012. Sixth-grader Sugar and her mother lose their beloved house and experience the harsh world of homelessness.

Body of Water by Sarah Dooley. 2011. After their trailer home and all their belongings are burned, twelve-year-old Ember and her Wiccan family move to a lakeside campground where Ember’s anguish over losing her dog, as well as her friendship with the boy she fears started the fire, stops her from making new friends and moving on.

The King of Dragons by Carol Fenner. 1998. Having lost access to the old railroad station where they had been staying, homeless Ian and his father move into an unused city courthouse and try to avoid being discovered by the authorities.

Monkey Island. By Paula Fox 1991. Forced to live on the streets of New York after his mother disappears from their hotel room, eleven-year-old Clay is befriended by two men who help him survive.

The Planet of Junior Brown by Virginia Hamilton. 1993. Already a leader in New York’s underground world of homeless children, Buddy Clark takes on the responsibility of protecting the overweight, emotionally disturbed friend with whom he has been playing hooky from eighth grade all semester.

Slake’s Limbo by Felice Holman. 1974. Thirteen year-old Aremis Slake, hounded by his fears and misfortunes, flees them into New York City’s subway tunnels, never again — he believes — to emerge.

Paintings from the Cave: Three Novellas by Gary Paulsen. 2011. In these three novellas, Gary Paulsen explores how children can survive the most difficult circumstances through art and the love of dogs.

Tinfoil Sky by Cyndi Sand-Eveland. 2012. When Mel and her mother leave the home of an abusive man, Mel allows herself to dream of a secure place to live, but that dream soon falls apart when the grandmother that they looked to for shelter is not as expected.

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Ages 13-18

Discussion Points

• It is important to respect people who are like us as well as people who are different than us.
• All people deserve a place to live and food to eat.
• There are many reasons that people become homeless but all deserve the opportunity to live in a place that is safe and comfortable.

 

Activities

• Before participating in SleepIn, select one or more of the suggested books and have a discussion of the book during your SleepIn.
• Watch one or more of the suggested movies and discuss how you feel about the character in the movie who is homeless and those who help him or her.
• SleepIn with your family and/or friends in a location in your home different than where you normally sleep, or sleep outside in sleeping bags or in a tent.
• Post photos of your SleepInsocial media #SleepOutWithUs, and make a donation on our site (Donate) and shout out to your friends to do their own SleepIn event.

• Young people can contribute to breaking the cycle of homelessness by:
  • Showing respect for all of their fellow students and community members
  • Share your feelings about helping the homeless with your peers.
  • Tour The Lord’s Place Family Campus
  • Volunteer at an activity at The Lord’s Place Family Campus.
  • Mentor a younger child at The Lord’s Place Family Campus.
  • Organize informational events about homelessness at your school.
  • Organize a fundraiser at your school or in your neighborhood to raise funds for the families at The Lord’s Place Campus.

 

Movies

• Up
• The Little Red wagon
• Pursuit of Happyness
• Blind Side

 

Books

Tyrell by Coe Booth. 2006. Fifteen-year-old Tyrell, who is living in a Bronx homeless shelter with his spaced-out mother and his younger brother, tries to avoid temptation so he does not end up in jail like his father.

My Lost and Found Life by Melodie Bowsher. 2006. When her mother is accused of embezzling a million dollars and vanishes, spoiled, selfish Ashley must fend for herself by finding a job and a place to live. 

Being with Henry by Martha Brooks. 2000. A teenage outcast, a grieving old man, and an untold story come together in unexpected ways in this moving novel about losing family — and finding it. 

Shelter by Beth Cooley. 2006. Following her father’s death and the discovery of his debts, high school sophomore Lucy moves with her mother and brother from their upper-middle-class neighborhood into a homeless shelter where she tries to come to terms with her new life. 

Ten Mile River by Paul Griffin. 2008. Having escaped from juvenile detention centers and foster care, two teenaged boys live on their own in an abandoned shack in a New York City park, making their way by stealing, occasionally working, and trying to keep from being arrested.

Theories of Relativity by Barbara Haworth-Attard. 2005. Dylan is living on the streets because he’s been cut loose by his unstable mother, and lost most contact with his two younger brothers. He has nothing but his backpack stuffed with a few precious belongings and his theories. Like how every fourth person throws him spare change; how no one does anything for anyone without a price; and how he just might be able to find a place in this complicated world.

Pieces of me by Darlene Ryan 2012. Maddie is living on the streets, trying to protect herself and make enough money to get a place to stay and find a way to go back to school. When she meets Q, she is wary but welcomes his friendship. And then she meets Dylan, a six-year-old boy, living on the streets with his family. When Dylan’s father asks Maddie to watch the boy for a while, she is happy to help. But Dylan’s parents don’t come back; and Maddie and Q are left looking after him. Trying to make a life together and care for her makeshift family, Maddie finds that maybe she has to ask for help.

Runaway by Wendelin Van Draanen. 2006. After running away from her fifth foster home, Holly, a twelve-year-old orphan, travels across the country, keeping a journal of her experiences and struggle to survive.

Sketches by Eric Walters. 2008. After running away from home, fifteen-year-old Dana finds friends on the Toronto streets, and, eventually, a way to come to terms with what has happened to her.

Non-Fiction

Hear These Voices: Youth at the Edge of the Millennium by Anthony Allison. 1999. Presents case studies of teenagers living with homelessness, prostitution, alcoholism, and neighborhood violence and interviews with staff members from organizations committed to helping teenagers in crisis.

No Place to Be: Voices of Homeless Children by Judith Berck. 1992. The stories and poems of actual homeless children depict the reality of homelessness in America, illustrating what it means to be deprived of the things most people take for granted.

Lives Turned Upside Down: Homeless Children in Their Own Words and Photographs by Jim Hubbard. 1996. Two girls and two boys, ages nine to twelve, talk about their own personal experiences with homelessness and life in shelters.

Anyplace But Here: Young, Alone, and Homeless: What to Do by Ellen Switzer. 1992. Examines the problems that lead young people to live on the streets and what life is like for them there. Also provides information on how they can get help.

 

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Adults

Discussion points:

• Today there are more than 30 former program participants employed by The Lord’s Place, leading productive lives.
• The Lord’s Place is looking for more employers who will partner with our agency to employ our formerly homeless men and women.
• Mental Health is an issue that sometimes leads to homeless.
• 85% of those who completed The Lord’s Place mental health program were stable and taking their medications at time of transfer to the local community mental health system.
• 97% were connected with a medical home at time of discharge.
• 95% had health insurance.
• 90% were stably housed.
• 55% were employed or receiving Social Security Disability benefits.
• Society benefits when the homeless change their lives through the programs and services of The Lord’s Place:
• 81% of The Lord’s Place alumni have remained free of emergency room visits.
• 86% have remained free of criminal convictions.
• 86% have remained free of psychiatric hospitalizations.
• Today there are 1,423 participants in the various programs of The Lord’s Place,
• The Lord’s Place continues to work with alumni of its programs to help ensure their continuing health and well-being. Today there are 475 participants in our Alumni Program.

 

Activities

• Select a book on homelessness to read before SleepIn. Have each member of your family/group participating in your SleepIn read the book.
• Decide when and how you are going to SleepIn: on sleeping bags in your home, outside in a tent or sleeping bags, etc.
• Post photos of your SleepInsocial media #SleepOutWithUs, and make a donation on our site (Donate) and shout out to your friends to do their own SleepIn event.
• The night of your SleepIn, set time aside away from cellphones, to focus on the issue of homelessness and your role in addressing the problem.
• Discuss the book on homelessness you decided to read; and/or watch and discuss a recommended movie related to homelessness.
• Review the discussion points provided and discuss how you feel about the provided facts and figures.
• Select one or more programs and services of The Lord’s Place and contemplate what you want to do to support a particular program or service.
• Schedule a tour of one or more of The Lord’s Place programs or campuses including The Men’s Campus, The Family Campus, Burckle Place program for single women, The Thrift Shop, our Job Training and Placement Program, Café Joshua, Café Joshua Catering.
• Contribute financially or volunteer to support the programs and services of The Lord’s Place to help break the cycle of homelessness in Palm Beach County.
• Become a monthly donor.  Click here to learn more.

 

Movies

• Up
• The Little Red wagon
• Pursuit of Happyness
• Blind Side
• The Soloist

 

Books

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Hold Fast by Blue Balliett

Almost Homeless by Joan Bauer

Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick

How to Steal a Dog

Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

Same Kind of Different as Me

The Family Under the Bridge

Homeless at Harvard by John Christopher Frame

Tell Them Who I Am:  The Lives of Homeless Women by Elliot Liebow

 

On behalf of the homeless families and men and women we serve, thank you for supporting The Lord’s Place through your participation in SleepIn.