Olmsted Falls Students Hear From Street Voices

The Plain Dealer covered this story last week regarding the students who spent the night outside in order to raise money for the Labre Project.  One missing piece of the article was it was the NEOCH speaker, Simona, who spoke to the group.  She has written for the Street Newspaper the past two issues here and here. She wrote about her experiences as a homeless Mom in both Atlanta and Cleveland even comparing the two cities in the last issue of the Street Chronicle.  More than 50 young people participated in this event on October 19 in Olmsted Falls.   They raised funds for the Labre project at St. Ignatius.  Labre is a program to go out on Sundays and build relationships with homeless people.  They talk, visit and sometimes even pray with the people who live outside.  The hope is that they will develop a relationship and will be able to move inside or accept help from one of the hundred organizations in our community. 

Simona's story is an attempt to show that homelessness can happen to anyone.  One incident can propel the family out of their housing.   Many in our society live right on the edge when a medical bill or a health scare or a loss of job sends the family into crisis.  Simona has a daughter in high school who went through this rough time and bounced around the city trying to stay out of the shelters.   We hope that the young people learn something from Simona and as future leaders will resolve to end homelessness in America. 

Brian Davis

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