'Sleep Out' Highlights Difficulty of Going Without Heat
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
The Greater Warsaw Ministerial Association will host “Sleep Out 2015” from 6 p.m. Nov. 13 to 6 a.m. Nov. 14 on the county courthouse lawn. Local community and business leaders will spend the night on the cold ground with only the clothes on their back, a piece of cardboard and a sleeping bag to raise awareness and funds for the Winter Warmth program in the community. Participants also will raise funds to pay Kosciusko County families’ utility disconnections. Winter Warmth is the Combined Community Services program that provides funding for utilities for low-income residents during the winter months. Every single day in Kosciusko County, someone goes without heat in their home, according to a press release from Combined Community Services. Someone sleeps in their coat to keep warm because they have turned their thermometer dangerously low to avoid an unaffordable utility bill. Someone brings all their children into one room and one bed so they can stay warm during the night. Someone goes without their medication so they can pay their utility bill. The release states that every single day in Kosciusko County, dozens of families are on the verge of being in that position and CCS Emergency Assistance sees those families. Some are elderly and on a fixed income. Some have lost their jobs. Some are working at minimum wage and their budget is just too tight to cover unexpectedly high bills. Some are going to college to better provide for their children’s futures and are unable to work full time until they finish. Some are experiencing an immediate crisis: the death of a spouse, a grave illness or a plant closing. And a few made bad choices and are trying to turn their lives around, the release states. Combined Community Services Emergency Assistance programs meets with individuals who have a disconnect notice for their utility. CCS works with them to keep their utilities on and to find options to improve their life situations, the press release states. For more information about becoming a participant in the Sleep Out, email Sabrina Phillips at sphillips@combinedcommunityservices.org; contact CCS Director of Client Assistance Peggi Lisenbee-Wright at pwright@combinedcommunityservices.org or 574-269-6019, Ext. 222; or stop in at CCS, 1195 S. Mariners Drive, Warsaw.
