Volunteers sleep in cardboard boxes for homeless awareness

Crowds of people in Pocatello will be voluntarily leaving their heated homes and warm beds behind Saturday night to sleep in cardboard boxes in a city park.

For one weekend in December every year, Caldwell park turns into a small cardboard city.

Locals volunteer to spend the night with only a cardboard box as shelter to help raise awareness of the plight of homeless people in southeast Idaho and raise money for the Aid for Friends homeless shelter.

“If we weren’t there housing 35 to 40 people, they would be out in our community. And that’s what this is all about,” Aid for Friends Executive Director BJ Stensland said.

Sean green and his 9-year-old son Josh are two of those volunteering to spend this one night without a home.

Sean said this is an important lesson for his son to learn.

“His hardship has been waking up and not having cereal. So it’s really good to have him come out here and understand what other kids go through on a regular basis and other people and just kind of step out of our comfort zone,” Sean said.

For six years aid for friends has put on the annual homeless encampment that goes a long way to funding the shelter for the rest of the year.

At the encampment the group accepts food, warm clothing, and donated money.