Sleep out part of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

Chances are, the last people on the minds of UConn students as they get into bed each night are those who do not have such a bed waiting for them.

And that's exactly what David Fenn wants them to consider.

"Think about the fact that some people don't have that opportunity," he said to the group of students gathered around him at Dow Field Tuesday night.

Fenn, the Director of the Windham Region No Freeze Hospitality Center, was speaking at the annual Homelessness Sleep Out. The Multicultural Greek Council, UConn PIRG and Community Outreach co-sponsored the Sleep Out as part of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.

Multicultural Greek Council President Adam Reyes said the annual Sleep Out has been held at UConn for the last three to five years as a way to promote awareness through participation. It's one thing for a speaker to come to the university and address students, but "it's another to experience sleeping outside in the cold one night," he said, even though this event is certainly a "pampered" version of that experience.

Reyes is not completely unfamiliar with the idea of homelessness. His family was once evicted from their home and, if it had not been for Reyes' grandparents, would have been left to live on the streets themselves.

"I consider myself fortunate," he said.

Fenn spoke about the effect that the current state of the economy, which has fostered many foreclosures and home losses, has had on the number of people seeking refuge at the No Freeze shelter. The center has a capacity of 28 people, which will probably be reached at some point this winter.

"I can tell you that's 95 percent because of the economy," he said.

In fact, the shelter opened to what Fenn called an "800 percent increase" over last year's opening-night numbers: eight people stayed at the shelter in its first night of operation for the season on Monday. The shelter stays open through April 30 and served over 143 individuals last year, according to Fenn.

Many of the students listening to Fenn's remarks had already begun constructing makeshift shelters out of cardboard donated by local businesses. Some, like James Gates, a 3rd-semester political science major, had even brought their own. Gates, who attended the Sleep Out with other members of the UConn Model United Nations, brought his own boxes from Big Y to participate.

"It's a good event to do together. It's a good thing to come out for," Coates said.

Others were getting into the creative spirit of the box-building contest.

"We're trying to build a turtle," said Kasey Pregler, a 5th-semester ecology and evolutionary biology major, standing in the middle of a cardboard floor encircled by waist-high walls.

The box-building competition was only one event of many scheduled throughout the night. A candlelight vigil was slated for later in the evening, amongst performances by a capella groups A Minor, A Completely Different Note, Extreme Measures and Rolling Tones (formerly Shir Modulation). Former "UConn Idol" Chris Freeman and a folk group composed of UConn students scheduled to perform at midnight rounded out the entertainment.

Participants were also encouraged to write letters, whether to local newspapers, senators, or anyone they wanted to inform about the issue of homelessness in the region.

"That's going to be left up to the authors," said Reyes of the intended readers.

The No Freeze Hospitality Center is seeking volunteers, as well as offering several paid internships in human services this season, according to Fenn. Those interested in volunteering or making a donation to the not-for-profit organization should visit www.nofreeze.org.