“Night Without Shelter” Aims to Teach Young People About Homelessness

The Midnight Mission organization is hosting a "night without shelter" for the first time Saturday night, during which students will experience what it’s like to be homeless.

Organizers hope to show young people what it’s like to live on the streets, and raise money and awareness for their cause in what is the grand finale of the Week of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness.

"We wanted to think of a way kind of outside of the box that can arrange a situation where people experience homelessness," said Ryan Navales of the Midnight Mission. "This is not your average event because we wanted to really shine a light on it in a new way."

Students and young adults from UCLA, USC, Los Angeles High School and elsewhere plan to spend a night without shelter at the Bowtie Parcel in Glassell Park along the LA River.

Navales said there will also be a few speakers who have experienced homelessness.

On a given night, more than 20,000 people spend the night without shelter in LA, according to Midnight Mission’s website. Organizers want the millennials to experience firsthand what that feels like by giving up the comfort of their own homes for one night.

And while the students won’t have tents or blankets, they will have their cellphones — that’s because the point is to meet other people and raise awareness, Navales said.