Family Promise to host ‘Night Without a Bed’

Family Promise, the nation’s leading organization fighting family homelessness, will host this year’s Night Without a Bed on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Night Without a Bed is a social media challenge that raises awareness for families experiencing homelessness. Family Promise of Sussex County, along with more than 200 other Affiliates nationwide, will be taking part in the event.

Night Without a Bed participants are asked to sleep anywhere without a bed for one night: cars, a tent, a treehouse, living room floor, a couch, etc. They are then asked to use the hashtag #NightWithoutABed2022 to post a video or photo with a comment or short blog entry to describe their experiences. In the run-up to the event, participants will challenge another friend to make the choice of participating in #NightWithoutABed2022 or donating to their local Family Promise. Last year, Night Without a Bed raised over $100,000 to help families across the country.

“We are celebrating Family Promise Week from Oct. 17 until Oct. 23, and NWAB is the highlight of this observance,” said Chris Butto, executive director of Family Promise of Sussex County. “This is a way for us to focus on homelessness in our own backyard and communities. We are excited about participating with other affiliates across the country. We hope to raise funds and bring attention to the plight of our neighbors who don’t have a home in which to live,” she said.

In 2021, Family Promise of Sussex County served 565 families and 916 individuals. Eighty plus households with children were served. The average length of stay in the agency’s shelters was 33 days and 84 percent of those served were stably housed.

According to the 2022 Point-in-Time Count of the homeless for Sussex County, 16 percent of individuals in the count had been homeless for more than one year. Approximately 60 percent were women and 37 percent were men, while 33 percent were children under 18 years old.

Every year in America, more than 3 million children experience homelessness. These children are 8-9 times more likely to repeat a grade, three times more likely to be placed in special education programs, and seven times more likely to attempt suicide. Approximately 42 percent will drop out of school at some point and 47 percent suffer from anxiety, depression, or withdrawal.