How Sioux Falls ‘Sleep Out’ Is Raising Homelessness Awareness

Every January a statewide 24-hour homeless survey is done. The 2022 South Dakota statewide homeless count revealed that here in Sioux Falls, the number of homeless persons was 407. In South Dakota - in January!

If you knew that sleeping outside on the cold ground for one night could help to change homelessness for one person, one child maybe, would you do it?

Thirteen people in Sioux Falls have committed to do just that at the Bishop Dudley "Night of Hope for the Homeless" event this Thursday and Friday, October  27 and 28.

To bring awareness to the experience of homelessness, and to raise funds, is the goal of the event in the parking lot of the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House at 101 N. Indiana Avenue, from 6:30 PM to 6:00 AM Thursday night into Friday morning.

The volunteers will be sleeping in a tent on the ground, using a refrigerator box as shelter. They are also raising funds to support the continuing mission of the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House.

In 2021, more than 1,750 individual guests and 52 families, including 101 children, relied on the Bishop Dudlley House for shelter, food, and basic necessities. We provided more than 30,500 lunches, 18,750 showers, and 4,000 loads of laundry. Our staff helped more than 100 people successfullyy transition to their own housing.- -Madeline Shields - Executive Director/Bishop Dudley Hospitality House

If you would like to donate to this cause or would like more information, please see the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House, or call executive director Madeline Shields at 605-809-8418.

Sources: Bishop Dudley Hospitality House & South Dakota Housing Development Authority