Cardboard City home for a night for Nashville CC youth
By Dave Mast
June 7, 2013
797
Its not every day that a thin layer of paper is all that stands between a person and the elements.
That is, unless you are homeless.
And so it was that on May 17, the Nashville Church of Christ youth group found themselves camped outside recently in an open lot in Nashville, not in tents, but rather in a series of cardboard boxes which were bound together with duct tape, windows and doorways carved into the sides of the boxes, with some youth by themselves in their own makeshift homes, others abutting boxes into larger homes which houses several teens for the night.
In the midst of the Cardboard City was a 55 gallon drum, fire blazing to offer some warmth throughout the night should anyone awake.
While it wasnt real, it certainly gave the aura of an actual Cardboard City, where across the nation many adults and even families call these makeshift boxes home.
A couple of years ago we did a mission trip to Pittsburgh and we did a homeless outreach ministry, said Jeremiah Scadden, associate minister at the church. When we came back, one of the mothers who chaperoned that trip brought up the idea of making our own Cardboard City to help raise awareness of homelessness in America.
Their first effort two years ago saw the weather turn awful, forcing them inside an option homeless people do not have.
This year was crisp, but clear, and they were able to set up camp and make a go if it.
Habitat for Humanity gave the group the go-ahead to utilize the empty lot in Nashville, a perfect location right along SR 39.
It helped to bring some recognition to what the group was doing.
With a purpose of raising awareness of the issue of homelessness, something the group realizes isnt a huge deal here, but is very well aware of the national problem, the teens hunkered down for a night in the cool, open air, protected with nothing but cardboard and a few blankets for the night.
While homelessness doesnt come quickly to mind in Holmes County, poverty certainly is a very relevant topic, and Scadden said that homelessness isnt that far removed from the community.
We dont have to go far from Holmes County to see that this is a problem, said Scadden. We wanted the kids to go through this to gain a little more appreciation of what they have and to gain a better understanding of what these homeless people go through on a daily basis, said Scadden. It is eye-opening when you realize many people go to bed at night who live like this.
As a away of extending the evenings mission into the community, the kids went door-to-door throughout town, passing out fliers talking about what the group was doing.
The idea was to challenge adults to perhaps figure out ways they can help eliminate the homelessness issue.
Scadden said that the mission for the church is to call people to a life-changing relationship in Jesus Christ, and this was one small way they could call people to that experience.
Scadden said that the 19 young adults, in sixth through 12th grade, would spend the night playing games and chatting after they built Cardboard City.
A number of local businesses donated some items to help build the city, and the teens quickly erected a rough, temporary city in the empty lot.
A time of prayer and devotion designed to help them focus on the issue at hand and what they hoped to achieve, as they turned their attention to making a difference in a world where poverty is rampant.
When we reach out and help others, we are actually doing it for God, said Scadden. We want that to hit home with these kids.
Scadden said that the group will head back to Pittsburgh, and now armed with a lot more knowledge and experience on the subject, it should really hit home for them.
It was a unique experience, one in which the young adults could learn a valuable lesson, continuing to build the bonds of friendship between themselves, even as they shared this valuable message of poverty, and of hope, with their community.
