CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLERIGHTNOW) – The Salvation Army and the Jefferson School Foundation are set to host the Sleep Out Cville event on Saturday (March 22) from 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM, inviting the community to experience a night outdoors and gain insight into the hardships of homelessness. The experience is aimed at helping to foster empathy and raise awareness about the struggles faced by the unhoused population in Charlottesville. The event will feature a panel discussion addressing the causes of homelessness, financial challenges, and barriers confronting those without stable housing.

Jim Battaglia, Director of Communications for the Charlottesville Salvation Army, explained, “We’re creating a full circle of the unhoused and homeless population, so it’s not just an assimilation of what it’s like to be homeless. We’re trying to dig down deeper into creating the awareness and the education aspect of it… We’re going to have food for people throughout the evening. And mind you, we’re going to have a heated facility in case it does get too cold, because we’re going to be rain or shine.”

Kimberly Sheffield of the Jefferson School Foundation added, “I am definitely more empathetic, and I definitely want to roll our sleeves up at the Jefferson School Foundation to assist the Salvation Army in any way that we can.”

 

Registration is now open for participants aged 14 and older. For more details,  visit Sleep Out C’ville – Charlottesville Corps.