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 fiancé, 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 fiancé, 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
