PUBLIC SLEEPING DAY
About Public Sleeping Day
Public Sleeping Day can be a silly holiday that simply makes fun of people who fall asleep in public�or, this day can be used to focus attention on a very serious problem, homelessness. Since there is no sponsor or event originator, it is really up to you on how you want to mark it.
Personal note from Laura
I live in Los Angeles where 1 in 14 people are homeless. We have dubious distinction of having the largest homeless population in the United States. Now like a lot of people, I got hit hard with the Great Recession and lost everything, having broken up with my fianc�, left my job for an opportunity overseas and returned just as everything crashed. It was so bad that at three times between November 2008 and April 2010 I found myself within 3 days of being homeless. It terrified me. I was even looking at ways to convert the backseat of my car into a bed. For me, new freelance jobs came in just in time and I avoided it, but thousands of others don�t. Last week I walked down to my local Vons and saw a young woman about 32 sleeping in her Mustang Convertible in the parking lot. The grocery store parking lots are a favorite place for those with cars and no homes to park in Los Angeles. That was last week, February 2014.
Rather than making this a silly holiday I�d like to suggest that people take the chance to use this day to look around. You�ll see them, the homeless who have to sleep during the day because it�s too dangerous at night. They�re under overpasses, trees in the park, behind dumpsters and on the beach. They�re everywhere, and it is perhaps one of the saddest commentaries on our society. We�re the richest country in the world, yet millions of our citizens live on the streets.
Personal note from Laura
I live in Los Angeles where 1 in 14 people are homeless. We have dubious distinction of having the largest homeless population in the United States. Now like a lot of people, I got hit hard with the Great Recession and lost everything, having broken up with my fianc�, left my job for an opportunity overseas and returned just as everything crashed. It was so bad that at three times between November 2008 and April 2010 I found myself within 3 days of being homeless. It terrified me. I was even looking at ways to convert the backseat of my car into a bed. For me, new freelance jobs came in just in time and I avoided it, but thousands of others don�t. Last week I walked down to my local Vons and saw a young woman about 32 sleeping in her Mustang Convertible in the parking lot. The grocery store parking lots are a favorite place for those with cars and no homes to park in Los Angeles. That was last week, February 2014.
Rather than making this a silly holiday I�d like to suggest that people take the chance to use this day to look around. You�ll see them, the homeless who have to sleep during the day because it�s too dangerous at night. They�re under overpasses, trees in the park, behind dumpsters and on the beach. They�re everywhere, and it is perhaps one of the saddest commentaries on our society. We�re the richest country in the world, yet millions of our citizens live on the streets.
PROMOTIONAL DETAILS
Event Sponsor:
Unofficial Holiday, No Sponsor. See National Coalition for the Homeless for story ideas
Videos
Downloads
6054_foreclosure.pdf
6054_Why.pdf
6054_How_Many.pdf
