• Home
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • News Tips/Press Releases
  • Advertising
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
No Result
View All Result
The Times-Delphic
  • News
    • All
    • Administrative News
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • In Des Moines
    • Politics
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    Drake University Puts on a Production of Into the Woods

    Performing during a pandemic

    A Q&A with Dogtown restaurant owners

    A Q&A with Dogtown restaurant owners

    Unused 2019-2020 student organization funds reallocated

    Unused 2019-2020 student organization funds reallocated

    4nd annual Beautiful Bulldog contest commences

    4nd annual Beautiful Bulldog contest commences

    Campus unites to protect community against COVID-19

    Campus unites to protect community against COVID-19

    • Administrative News
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • In Des Moines
    • Politics
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    • Senate Elections
  • Sports
    • All
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Column
    • Cross-Country
    • E-Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Rowing
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Tennis
    • Track and Field
    • Volleyball
    Reviewing the women’s volleyball season

    Reviewing the women’s volleyball season

    Drake Football takes third loss against Valparaiso

    Drake Rowing Prepares for First Race of Season

    Drake Rowing Prepares for First Race of Season

    Drake Places in March Madness Tournament

    Drake Places in March Madness Tournament

    Drake Tennis Player named Player of the Week

    • Basketball
    • Column
    • Cross-Country
    • E-Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Rowing
    • Soccer
    • Softball
  • Commentary
    • All
    • Horoscope
    • Letter from the Editor
    • Letter to the Editor
    Commentary | April Fool’s Day and Easter

    Commentary | April Fool’s Day and Easter

    Troll 2: The Best, Worst Movie

    Troll 2: The Best, Worst Movie

    Commentary: We all Relate to the Suez Canal

    Commentary: We all Relate to the Suez Canal

    Commentary: Where has Rock Gone?

    Commentary: Where has Rock Gone?

    Commentary: Letter to the Editor

    • Horoscope
    • Letter from the Editor
  • Features
    • All
    • Greek Life

    COVID and Drake Students

    Plaque Honors DG House Mother

    Plaque Honors DG House Mother

    SJMC alumn encourages students to be their own advocates

    SJMC alumn encourages students to be their own advocates

    Drake Theatre Department Presents Online Musical

    Haley Piper Designs Record-Breaking Light Show

    Politics Professor Begins US-China Podcast

    Politics Professor Begins US-China Podcast

    • Greek Life
  • Podcasts
    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Humans of Drake Podcast

    Bulldog Blitz 1: December 7, 2010

    The Sports Report 2010 7: 11/09/2010

  • Relays Edition
    Drake University Puts on a Production of Into the Woods

    Performing during a pandemic

    A Q&A with Dogtown restaurant owners

    A Q&A with Dogtown restaurant owners

    Unused 2019-2020 student organization funds reallocated

    Unused 2019-2020 student organization funds reallocated

    4nd annual Beautiful Bulldog contest commences

    4nd annual Beautiful Bulldog contest commences

    Campus unites to protect community against COVID-19

    Campus unites to protect community against COVID-19

    Rainbow Union Empowers the LGBTQ+ Community at Drake

    Rainbow Union Empowers the LGBTQ+ Community at Drake

    Avengers: Endgame Predictions

    Avengers: Endgame Predictions

    Drake professors define their teaching experiences

    Evening at the observatory: Is There an Anti-Me?

    Evening at the observatory: Is There an Anti-Me?

    • Commentary
    • Coronavirus
    • Elections
    • Features
    • In Des Moines
    • News
    • This week in photos
    • Top News
    • Top Stories
    • Uncategorized
    • Video
    • Sports
    • Security Reports
    • Relays Edition
    • Poll
    • Podcasts
    • Online Exclusives
    • Opinion
  • News
    • All
    • Administrative News
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • In Des Moines
    • Politics
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    Drake University Puts on a Production of Into the Woods

    Performing during a pandemic

    A Q&A with Dogtown restaurant owners

    A Q&A with Dogtown restaurant owners

    Unused 2019-2020 student organization funds reallocated

    Unused 2019-2020 student organization funds reallocated

    4nd annual Beautiful Bulldog contest commences

    4nd annual Beautiful Bulldog contest commences

    Campus unites to protect community against COVID-19

    Campus unites to protect community against COVID-19

    • Administrative News
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • In Des Moines
    • Politics
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    • Senate Elections
  • Sports
    • All
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Column
    • Cross-Country
    • E-Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Rowing
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Tennis
    • Track and Field
    • Volleyball
    Reviewing the women’s volleyball season

    Reviewing the women’s volleyball season

    Drake Football takes third loss against Valparaiso

    Drake Rowing Prepares for First Race of Season

    Drake Rowing Prepares for First Race of Season

    Drake Places in March Madness Tournament

    Drake Places in March Madness Tournament

    Drake Tennis Player named Player of the Week

    • Basketball
    • Column
    • Cross-Country
    • E-Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Rowing
    • Soccer
    • Softball
  • Commentary
    • All
    • Horoscope
    • Letter from the Editor
    • Letter to the Editor
    Commentary | April Fool’s Day and Easter

    Commentary | April Fool’s Day and Easter

    Troll 2: The Best, Worst Movie

    Troll 2: The Best, Worst Movie

    Commentary: We all Relate to the Suez Canal

    Commentary: We all Relate to the Suez Canal

    Commentary: Where has Rock Gone?

    Commentary: Where has Rock Gone?

    Commentary: Letter to the Editor

    • Horoscope
    • Letter from the Editor
  • Features
    • All
    • Greek Life

    COVID and Drake Students

    Plaque Honors DG House Mother

    Plaque Honors DG House Mother

    SJMC alumn encourages students to be their own advocates

    SJMC alumn encourages students to be their own advocates

    Drake Theatre Department Presents Online Musical

    Haley Piper Designs Record-Breaking Light Show

    Politics Professor Begins US-China Podcast

    Politics Professor Begins US-China Podcast

    • Greek Life
  • Podcasts
    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Humans of Drake Podcast

    Bulldog Blitz 1: December 7, 2010

    The Sports Report 2010 7: 11/09/2010

  • Relays Edition
    Drake University Puts on a Production of Into the Woods

    Performing during a pandemic

    A Q&A with Dogtown restaurant owners

    A Q&A with Dogtown restaurant owners

    Unused 2019-2020 student organization funds reallocated

    Unused 2019-2020 student organization funds reallocated

    4nd annual Beautiful Bulldog contest commences

    4nd annual Beautiful Bulldog contest commences

    Campus unites to protect community against COVID-19

    Campus unites to protect community against COVID-19

    Rainbow Union Empowers the LGBTQ+ Community at Drake

    Rainbow Union Empowers the LGBTQ+ Community at Drake

    Avengers: Endgame Predictions

    Avengers: Endgame Predictions

    Drake professors define their teaching experiences

    Evening at the observatory: Is There an Anti-Me?

    Evening at the observatory: Is There an Anti-Me?

    • Commentary
    • Coronavirus
    • Elections
    • Features
    • In Des Moines
    • News
    • This week in photos
    • Top News
    • Top Stories
    • Uncategorized
    • Video
    • Sports
    • Security Reports
    • Relays Edition
    • Poll
    • Podcasts
    • Online Exclusives
    • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The Times-Delphic
No Result
View All Result
Home News Campus Events

Reggie’s Sleepout aims to prevent tragedy for Iowa’s homeless youth

byMATTHEW GOGERTY
October 26, 2016
in Campus Events, News
0 0
1

Photo by Cassandra Bauer | Staff Photographer

BY MATTHEW GOGERTY

Reggie’s Sleepout began at 3 p.m. on Oct. 22 with people coming to claim their spots on the field and register for the “boxed-in contest,” which is exactly what it sounds like: people building temporary shelters out of cardboard in a competition to see who can come up with the best design.

The contest gives participants an idea of what it feels like to live in the type of structures and conditions that the homeless population experiences every night.

“It’s pretty neat to see the themes,” said Toby O’Berry, director of Iowa Homeless Youth Center. “We have groups that come back year after year: different churches, organizations, and clubs. They work on their theme for months. We’ve had unique ones where a group designed a tank and they were going to fight homelessness.”

At the event, there were boxed-in structures built to represent a number of things, most notably the replica of the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden and the Joppa Tiny Home-inspired mini-camp set up by a number of Des Moines University students.

“Our box village was inspired by Joppa’s Tiny Home that they have suggested as a possible plan for Des Moines,” Julia Blue said, a second year medical student at Des Moines University. “Whether that happens here or not we just love the idea and we wanted to replicate it here.”

Youth and Shelter Services (YSS) has been a huge component in the fight against homeless youth since its official inception in 1976. Reggie’s Sleepout has grown to be one of the biggest outpours of community support the non-profit has found.

“We typically have around 1,000 people sleep out,” O’Berry said. “The average donation is about $50 per camp, so it’s really grassroots, friends asking friends, just small gifts, which means the community is really embracing the cause.”

In 2001, the young man named Reggie Kelsey aged out of the foster care system in Iowa and died three and a half months later while camping by the Des Moines River.

The response by Youth and Shelter Services was to implement an aftercare system that would give young men in Reggie’s age range a chance after they aged out of the system.

The sleep-out is the main source of funds for the programs that has been implemented in the light of Reggie’s story.

“We typically raise from anywhere between $100,000 to $140,000 from just this one event,” O’Berry said. “100 percent of that goes directly to supporting our youth, so it allows us to (do) some of the work we do that maybe can’t be funded by a grant or isn’t funded by a grant.”

One such program, offered by YSS and Iowa Homeless Youth Centers, is their Transitional Living Program, which offers people ages 16-21 safe housing in order to focus on more pressing things like education and employment.

“People say, ‘Well, if they just went out and got a job…’ but it’s not that easy,” YSS Board Member Mary Oliver said. “It’s not a matter of making them comfortable being homeless, the goal is to get them out of homelessness.”

Mary Oliver has been present at all 11 sleep-outs and was involved in the planning meeting for the very first sleep-out.

“The big issue is awareness,” Oliver said. “There are so many people who have no idea that we have homeless young adults in Iowa, they say, ‘No, that doesn’t happen here’ They become aware of the issue and some of the issues around how it is that kids become homeless, and how they get out of homelessness.”

At the time this article was written, Iowa Homeless Youth Center had reached over $90,000 of their $150,000 goal. Since the sleep-out began in 2005, over $1.4 million have been raised to battle youth homelessness in the Des Moines area and the state of Iowa.

MATTHEW GOGERTY

Next Post

A week of awareness: VIP brings domestic violence conversation to campus

Comments 1

  1. Jacen says:
    4 years ago

    Who ended up winning the boxed in contest?

Twitter Feeds

The Times-Delphic
The Times-Delphic @timesdelphic

The Times-Delphic is celebrating the Relay's Edition with a fun giveaway. We have twenty pairs of TD crew socks (they are really cool not to flex) to hand out. To win a pair, simply take a picture with the Relays edition and post it. Tag the TD and use the hashtag #TDinthewild.
View on Twitter
1
15
The Times-Delphic
The Times-Delphic @timesdelphic

The Times-Delphic is looking for commentary pieces for our Relays Edition! Have a controversial opinion, wanna rank the best tv shows, think the moon is cheese... we wanna hear! Please send submissions or pitches to timesdelphic @drake.edu
View on Twitter
3
7

Recommended

Drake proves too much for Bradley in MVC opener

9 years ago

Dogtown After Hours event to return after hiatus

7 years ago

Popular News

  • Snapchat Streaks: fostering friendships or forcing communication?

    Snapchat Streaks: fostering friendships or forcing communication?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Gladwell’s “Outliers” reveals the many factors of success

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Drake ranks among Ivy Leagues on Economist list

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Several students test positive for COVID-19 in Goodwin-Kirk Residence Hall

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Twitch Streamer Raises Money for LGBT Community

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Drake Declines to Share Covid Data

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The rise and fall of Motown Records

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Professor’s Tweets Bring Campus Controversy

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Student press is essential for letting students’ voices be heard

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Rolle breaks Drake triple jump record

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Connect with us

  • About
  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Virtual Edition
  • Advertising

Copyright 2015 Fuel Themes. All RIGHTS RESERVED.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Administrative News
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • In Des Moines
    • Politics
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    • Senate Elections
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Column
    • Cross-Country
    • E-Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Rowing
    • Soccer
    • Softball
  • Commentary
    • Horoscope
    • Letter from the Editor
  • Features
    • Greek Life
  • Podcasts
  • Relays Edition
    • Commentary
    • Coronavirus
    • Elections
    • Features
    • In Des Moines
    • News
    • This week in photos
    • Top News
    • Top Stories
    • Uncategorized
    • Video
    • Sports
    • Security Reports
    • Relays Edition
    • Poll
    • Podcasts
    • Online Exclusives
    • Opinion

Copyright 2015 Fuel Themes. All RIGHTS RESERVED.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist